2021 Pittsburgh mayoral election

The 2021 Pittsburgh mayoral election took place on November 2, 2021. The primary election was held on May 18, 2021. The Democratic nominee, State Representative Ed Gainey, defeated the Republican nominee, retired police officer Tony Moreno.^[2]

2021 Pittsburgh mayoral election

← 2017 November 2, 2021 2025 →
Turnout	30.7%^[1]
Nominee Ed Gainey Tony Moreno Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 50,165 20,162 Percentage 70.8% 28.4%
Ward results Precinct results Gainey:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Moreno:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Tie:      50%
Mayor before election Bill Peduto Democratic Elected Mayor Ed Gainey Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto ran for re-election to a third term in office, but lost renomination to state representative Ed Gainey.^[3] Four Democrats and no Republicans filed to appear on their respective primary ballots.^[4][5] Tony Moreno, though having unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination, was the Republican nominee after having earned sufficient votes in the Republican primary as a write-in candidate to win the nomination.^[6] Two independent candidates had originally indicated an intention to file to appear on the general election ballot, though one withdrew and the other was removed from the ballot by judicial order.^[7] With 70,885 ballots cast, this was the highest turnout for a Pittsburgh mayoral race since 1997.

Background

Bill Peduto was first elected in the 2013 election to succeed Luke Ravenstahl and assumed office in January 2014.^[8] Peduto sought and was re-elected to a second term in the 2017 election; in November 2017, Peduto garnered 96% of the vote, having not had any significant opposition in the general election.^[9]

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on May 18, 2021. As of January 2021, four candidates had indicated an intention to seek the Democratic nomination. Retired Pittsburgh Police officer Tony Moreno announced his intention in September 2019,^[10] William Peduto announced his campaign for a third term in mid—January 2021,^[3] and State Representative Ed Gainey launched his campaign in late January 2021.^[11] Activist Will Parker launched his campaign in mid-December 2020. In March, four Democrats had filed paperwork to appear on the ballot, Peduto, Gainey, Moreno, and college math tutor and ride-sharing driver Michael Thompson. Parker did not file nominating papers.^[4]

In mid-February 2021, Pittsburgh City Paper reported candidate Tony Moreno's Twitter included tweets praising Donald Trump, were supportive of Trump causes, and contained contempt for Democrats.^[12] After Pittsburgh City Paper's report was published Moreno's tweets were criticised by Pittsburgh's Democratic Committee chairman, many tweets were deleted from Moreno's Twitter, and his Twitter was switched to protected status.^[13]

In early March 2021, the Allegheny County Democratic Committee announced that it had endorsed Gainey over the incumbent mayor Peduto, with 326 votes. Moreno received 224 votes. Peduto did not actively seek the endorsement of the committee, citing its endorsement of a Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who had made social media posts supportive of then-President Donald Trump. Peduto received the endorsements of some other Democratic leaders, including County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Representative Mike Doyle, and State Senate minority leader Jay Costa.^[14]

Candidates

Nominee

• Ed Gainey, Pennsylvania State Representative from the 24th District^[11][15][16]

Defeated in primary

• Bill Peduto, incumbent Mayor of Pittsburgh^[3][17]
• Tony Moreno, retired Pittsburgh Police officer^[10]
• Michael Thompson, college math tutor and ride-sharing driver^[4]

Failed to qualify

• Will Parker, businessman and activist^[18] (running as an independent)

Endorsements

Bill Peduto

Federal officials

• Mike Doyle, U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district^[19]

State officials

• Jay Costa, Minority Leader of the Pennsylvania Senate (D-43)^[19]
• Wayne Fontana, State Senator (D-42)^[20]

County officials

• Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive^[19]

Local officials

• Ricky Burgess, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• Anthony Coghill, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• Theresa Kail-Smith, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• Bruce Kraus, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• R. Daniel Lavelle, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• Corey O'Connor, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[22]
• Erika Strassburger, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]
• Bobby Wilson, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]

Labor unions

• Allegheny County AFL–CIO^[19]
• SEIU Local 32^[20]
• Sheet Metal Union Local 12^[23]
• Steamfitters Union Local 449^[23]

Ed Gainey

State legislators

• Jake Wheatley, Pennsylvania State Representative from the 19th district^[24]
• Summer Lee, Pennsylvania State Representative from the 34th district^[24]
• Sara Innamorato, Pennsylvania State Representative from the 21st district^[24]

Local officials

• Deb Gross, Member of Pittsburgh City Council^[21]

Newspapers

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette^[25]

Political organizations

• Allegheny County Democratic Committee^[26]

Labor unions

• SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania^[27][28]

Results

 

Results by ward:

  Gainey—30–40%

  Gainey—40–50%

  Gainey—50–60%

  Gainey—60–70%

  Gainey—70–80%

  Peduto—30–40%

  Peduto—40–50%

  Peduto—50–60%

  Moreno—40–50%

Bill Peduto conceded the Democratic primary election to Ed Gainey on the night of the election.^[29]

Democratic primary results^[30]

Candidate		Votes	%
Ed Gainey		26,479	46.4
Bill Peduto (incumbent)		22,406	39.2
Tony Moreno		7,442	13.0
Michael Thompson		680	1.2
Write-in		117	0.2
Total votes		57,124	100

Republican primary

No Republican filed to run.^[31]

Results

Republican primary results^[31]

Candidate		Votes	%
Tony Moreno (write-in)		1,379	64.6
Bill Peduto (incumbent) (write-in)		285	13.3
Ed Gainey (write-in)		176	8.2
Other write-in votes		276	12.9
Total votes		2,136	100

Aftermath

Under Pennsylvania law, a candidate can win a party's nomination via write-in votes if they surpass 250 votes in said party's primary, even if they are not a member of that party. This means that Moreno and Peduto both qualified to appear on the November ballot as the Republican nominee. Peduto stated he had no intention of continuing his campaign and endorsed Ed Gainey.^[31] Moreno announced that he would accept the Republican nomination in late June and switched his party registration to Republican.^[6]

Accepted nomination

• Tony Moreno, retired police officer^[6]

Declined

• Bill Peduto, incumbent mayor (Democratic)^[31]

Independents

Failed to qualify

• Will Parker^[7] (ran as a write-in)^[32]

Withdrawn

• Marlin Woods, businessman, public speaker, author, mentor^[33][34]

General election

Results

2021 Pittsburgh mayoral election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Gainey	50,165	70.77
	Republican	Tony Moreno	20,162	28.44
	Write-in		558	0.79
Total votes			70,885	100%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Allegheny County Elections Division (December 17, 2021). "November 2, 2021 Municipal Election – Mayor Pittsburgh". Election Night Reporting – Allegheny County, PA. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
2. "2021 Mayor elections results – Pittsburgh". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
3. Davidson, Tom (January 14, 2021). "Peduto makes it official, seeks 3rd term as Pittsburgh's mayor". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
4. Davidson, Tom (March 10, 2021). "Peduto to face 3 challengers in Pittsburgh mayoral race, Will Parker out". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
5. Davidson, Tom (May 18, 2021). "Ed Gainey defeats Bill Peduto as incumbent concedes in Pittsburgh mayoral primary". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
6. Routh, Julian (June 29, 2021). "Tony Moreno accepts Republican nomination for Pittsburgh mayor, will challenge Ed Gainey in November". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
7. Delano, Jon (July 16, 2021). "Marlin Woods To File Papers To Run For Mayor Of Pittsburgh, Giving City Voters 4 Choices". KDKA-TV. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
8. O'Toole, James; Balingit, Moriah (November 6, 2013). "Peduto wins Pittsburgh mayoral election in landslide". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
9. "Official Results - Mayor Citywide". Allegheny County Division of Elections. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
10. "Retired Pittsburgh police officer plans to challenge Mayor Peduto in 2021 primary". TribLive. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
11. Staff, WPXI com News (January 20, 2021). "State Rep. Ed Gainey launching campaign for mayor of Pittsburgh". WPXI. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
12. Deto, Ryan (February 23, 2021). "Pittsburgh Democratic mayoral candidate has Twitter feed filled with Trump praise". News. Pittsburgh City Paper. Eagle Media Corp. from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
13. Davidson, Tom (March 2, 2021). "Candidate's old tweets touting Trump spur more turmoil among Democrats in Pittsburgh mayoral race". Local. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
14. Davidson, Tom. "Allegheny County Dems endorse Ed Gainey in Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
15. Routh, Julian (January 23, 2021). "State Rep. Ed Gainey launches official mayoral campaign". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
16. bill peduto [@billpeduto] (May 19, 2021). "I just called @gainey_ed and congratulated him on earning the Democratic endorsement for Mayor of the city of Pittsburgh. Wishing him well. Thank you Pittsburgh for the honor of being your Mayor these past 8 years. I will remain forever grateful" (Tweet). from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Twitter.
17. "Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Announces Reelection Campaign". CBS Pittsburgh. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
18. Davidson, Tom (March 10, 2021). "Peduto to face 3 challengers in Pittsburgh mayoral race, Will Parker out". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
19. "Allegheny County Dems endorse Ed Gainey in Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
20. "Bill Peduto early favorite in mayor's race, but Ed Gainey provides a strong challenge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
21. Routh, Julian. "Councilwoman Gross endorses Peduto challenger Gainey for Pittsburgh mayor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
22. "Pittsburgh mayoral endorsements start to roll in as candidates begin drive for signatures". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. February 16, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
23. "Ed Gainey announces $130K in fundraising as incumbent Peduto gains support from teachers union". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
24. "Endorsements". Ed Gainey for Mayor. March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
25. "Gainey for mayor of Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
26. Routh, Julian. "Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorses Gainey for Pittsburgh mayor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
27. Routh, Julian. "Health workers union to endorse Rep. Gainey in Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
28. carriesantoro. . SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
29. "Incumbent Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Concedes To Ed Gainey On Twitter". KDKA. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
30. "Dem Mayor Pittsburgh". Allegheny County, PA Election Results. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
31. Routh, Julian (May 27, 2021). "Tony Moreno wins GOP nomination for Pittsburgh mayor via write-ins, could face Ed Gainey in November general election". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (published May 26, 2021). from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
32. William, Parker [@Vote4WillParker] (August 25, 2021). (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021 – via Twitter.
33. "Marlin Woods running for Pittsburgh mayor as independent". WPXI. Cox Media Group. June 11, 2021. from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
34. Hayes, John (August 15, 2021). "Independent Marlin Woods withdraws from Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Edward Gainey (D) for Mayor
• Tony Moreno (R) for Mayor May 1, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Will Parker (I) for Mayor
• Marlin Woods (I) for Mayor
• Bill Peduto (D) for Mayor
• Michael Thompson (D) for Mayor May 3, 2021, at the Wayback Machine