Pittsburgh Democrats chose their nominee for mayor in today’s primary, determining whether Ed Gainey runs for a second term or if County Controller Corey O’Connor can boot him out of City Hall. The Republican mayoral primary featured multiple candidates for the first time since 2001: Retired police detective Tony Moreno and clothing store owner Thomas West.

The makeup of the city’s electorate means that the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary is heavily favored to win in November and become the city’s next mayor.

Voters across Pennsylvania went to the polls today for primary elections, selecting nominees for the Nov. 4 General Election for municipal offices and judges. In Allegheny County, voters contemplated candidates for eight seats on the Court of Common Pleas, two open appellate court seats and races throughout the county’s 130 municipalities.

Polls officially closed at 8 p.m.

Who can vote in a primary?

In Pennsylvania, only voters registered with one of the two major political parties can vote in their respective primaries. Check your voter registration here.

But all Pittsburgh voters, including independents and unaffiliated voters, could vote on three Pittsburgh city charter amendments on the ballot today. 

What was on the ballot?

Allegheny County voters decided on nominees for eight seats on the county’s Court of Common Pleas bench. Twenty-two candidates ran on the Democratic side, six of whom cross-filed to be the only candidates on the Republican side.

Republican voters saw contested primaries for Superior Court judge and Commonwealth Court judge. Democratic voters saw contested primaries for two County Council seats. 

In Pittsburgh, aside from the mayor’s race, there were uncontested primaries for four City Council seats and contested primaries for four school board seats.

For information on races in other municipalities, use the county’s ballot lookup tool.

How can I vote today?

Polls were open until 8 p.m., and anyone who got in line by that time could vote. Find out your polling location here.

Voters still in possession of a mail-in ballot had two options: Deliver it to the county at 542 Forbes Ave., Downtown, or surrender it at their local polling place and vote with a traditional ballot.

What should I read about the elections?

• Who’s running in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County elections in 2025?
• Why are developers backing O’Connor? Some want a Pittsburgh mayor who will take their calls.
• Gainey and O’Connor both look to UPMC as long-running quest for cash meets strained city budget
• Hard math on affordable housing doesn’t equal Gainey or O’Connor claims
• Budgets, housing and police rosters at issue in Pittsburgh mayoral race debate
• Untraceable money boosts both Gainey and O’Connor in Pittsburgh mayor’s race

Where can I find out the results?

PublicSource will publish live election returns for both mayoral primaries starting just after polls close at 8 p.m. along with winners of down-ballot races for County Council, school board and judicial seats. 

Check PublicSource.org or our Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram accounts for the latest information.

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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Primary Day 2025: Polls close in Pittsburgh’s mayoral primaries

by Charlie Wolfson, Pittsburgh's Public Source
May 20, 2025

<h1>Primary Day 2025: Polls close in Pittsburgh’s mayoral primaries</h1> <p class="byline">by Charlie Wolfson, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />May 20, 2025</p> <p>Pittsburgh Democrats chose their nominee for <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayoral-primary-2025-candidate-highlights-achievements-endorsements-democrat-republican/">mayor in today’s primary</a>, determining whether Ed Gainey runs for a second term or if County Controller Corey O’Connor can boot him out of City Hall. The Republican mayoral primary featured multiple candidates for the first time since 2001: Retired police detective Tony Moreno and clothing store owner Thomas West.</p> <p>The makeup of the city’s electorate means that the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary is heavily favored to win in November and become the city’s next mayor.</p> <p>Voters across Pennsylvania went to the polls today for primary elections, selecting nominees for the Nov. 4 General Election for municipal offices and judges. In Allegheny County, voters contemplated candidates for eight seats on the Court of Common Pleas, two open appellate court seats and races throughout the county’s 130 municipalities.</p> <p>Polls officially closed at 8 p.m.</p> <div class="wp-block-buttons"> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#whocanvote">Who can vote?</a></div> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#ballot">What's on the ballot?</a></div> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#howvote">How to vote today</a></div> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#readmore">Read more</a></div> </p></div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="whocanvote"><strong>Who can vote in a primary?</strong></h2> <p>In Pennsylvania, only voters registered with one of the two major political parties can vote in their respective primaries. <a href="https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/voterregistrationstatus.aspx">Check your voter registration here</a>.</p> <p>But all Pittsburgh voters, including independents and unaffiliated voters, could vote on three Pittsburgh city <a href="https://www.wesa.fm/pa-election-guide-2025">charter amendments</a> on the ballot today. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="ballot"><strong>What was on the ballot?</strong></h2> <p>Allegheny County voters decided on nominees for eight seats on the county’s Court of Common Pleas bench. Twenty-two candidates ran on the Democratic side, six of whom cross-filed to be the only candidates on the Republican side.</p> <p>Republican voters saw contested primaries for Superior Court judge and Commonwealth Court judge. Democratic voters saw contested primaries for two County Council seats. </p> <p>In Pittsburgh, aside from the mayor’s race, there were uncontested primaries for four City Council seats and contested primaries for four school board seats.</p> <p>For information on races in other municipalities, <a href="https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Government/Elections/Sample-Ballots">use the county’s ballot lookup tool</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="howvote"><strong>How can I vote today?</strong></h2> <p>Polls were open until 8 p.m., and anyone who got in line by that time could vote. <a href="https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/voterregistrationstatus.aspx">Find out your polling location here</a>.</p> <p>Voters still in possession of a mail-in ballot had two options: Deliver it to the county at 542 Forbes Ave., Downtown, or surrender it at their local polling place and vote with a traditional ballot.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="readmore"><strong>What should I read about the elections?</strong></h2> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayoral-primary-2025-candidate-highlights-achievements-endorsements-democrat-republican/">Who’s running in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County elections in 2025?</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayor-election-2025-oconnor-gainey-developers-walnut-capital/">Why are developers backing O’Connor? Some want a Pittsburgh mayor who will take their calls.</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayoral-election-2025-gainey-oconnor-upmc-pilot/">Gainey and O’Connor both look to UPMC as long-running quest for cash meets strained city budget</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayor-election-2025-affordable-housing-pittsburgh-mayor-ed-gainey-corey-oconnor/">Hard math on affordable housing doesn’t equal Gainey or O’Connor claims</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-mayor-election-2025-debate-forum-point-park-playhouse-gainey-oconnor/">Budgets, housing and police rosters at issue in Pittsburgh mayoral race debate</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/campaign-finance-pittsburgh-mayor-2025/">Untraceable money boosts both Gainey and O’Connor in Pittsburgh mayor’s race</a></li> </ul> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Where can I find out the results?</strong></h2> <p>PublicSource will publish live election returns for both mayoral primaries starting just after polls close at 8 p.m. along with winners of down-ballot races for County Council, school board and judicial seats.&nbsp;</p> <p>Check <a href="http://publicsource.org">PublicSource.org</a> or our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/publicsource">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://x.com/PublicSourcePA">X/Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/publicsource/?hl=en">Instagram</a> accounts for the latest information.</p> <p><em>Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at&nbsp;charlie@publicsource.org.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/primary-election-2025-polls-open-gainey-oconnor/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1318916&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/primary-election-2025-polls-open-gainey-oconnor/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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