Pittsburgh mayoral primary sees major upset as ‘old guard’ candidate defeats progressive incumbent Ed Gainey

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey was ousted Tuesday in a stiff Democratic primary challenge from Corey O'Connor, who also outraised and outspent the incumbent on the campaign trail.

Sen. John Fetterman, left, greets Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey at the Tree of Life memorial ceremony. (Getty)

Gainey’s campaign has highlighted the mayor’s efforts to increase community policing and mental health professionals to assist in police response, while O’Connor also claims the mantle of the pro-police candidate.

Under Gainey, the city ranks first in state population growth and has increased its affordable housing by 1,600 units.

Working with Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Gainey secured $600 million for downtown revitalization and improvements to the city's iconic Point State Park.

"Thanks to our people-powered movement, our campaign has all of the momentum in this race. We’ve proven again and again since 2021 that when we come together — across race, across class, religion, age, across every line that’s ever been used to divide us — we are unstoppable," Gainey said in a statement.

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On the Republican side, retired Police Det. Tony Moreno – who lost to Gainey last cycle – is running in the GOP primary against clothier Thomas West.

On the other side of the commonwealth, George Soros-backed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner won his primary, and in the state's third-largest city, Allentown, progressive incumbent Matt Tuerk is facing off against another "old guard" Democrat in Councilman Ed Zucal.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pittsburgh-mayoral-primary-major-upset-old-guard-candidate-defeats-progressive-incumbent-ed-gainey