Primaries are scheduled for May 20 and the General Election is Nov. 4.
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Pittsburgh voters will elect a mayor this year, ultimately choosing from among four major party candidates and deciding whether Democrat Ed Gainey will serve a second term. More than a third of Allegheny County Council seats are on the ballot this year, along with five of nine Pittsburgh Public Schools board seats and four of nine Pittsburgh City Council seats.
Voters registered as Democrats and Republicans will go to the polls May 20 for primary elections to choose nominees for the Nov. 4 General Election. Independent and minor party candidates have until Aug. 1 to file to be on the November ballot.
Allegheny County voters will also choose eight new judges for the Court of Common Pleas and decide whether seven sitting judges keep their jobs. Voters will also decide whether or not to retain two appeals court judges and three state Supreme Court justices, with the potential to shift the ideological leaning of the high court.
Candidates may still be removed from the ballot if their petitions are successfully challenged in court. The lists below will be updated as new information becomes available.
Who’s running in Allegheny County primary elections in 2025?
Registrants of each major party will go to the polls to choose nominees in closed primaries on May 20. Pittsburgh mayor, seven county council seats, four city council seats and eight Court of Common Pleas seats are up for grabs. Nominees advance to the Nov. 4 General Election. Candidates can have their eligibility challenged until March 18.
| County Council At-Large (Special Election) | Mike Embrescia | Yes | n/a | Embrescia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Council District 1 | Jack Betkowski | No | Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Carl Villella | Mary Jo Wise |
| County Council District 12 | Bobby Palmosina | Yes | Palmosina | |
| County Council District 3 | Anita Prizio | No | Lisa Geiger Shulman, Kenneth Aquiline | W. Christopher Lochner |
| County Council District 4 | Patrick Catena | Yes | Catena | Bob Doddato |
| County Council District 8 | Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis | Yes | Naccarati-Chapkis | |
| County Council District 9 | Bob Macey | No | Daniel Davis, Dylan Altemara, Aaron Adams, Kellianne Frketic | |
| County Sheriff | Kevin Kraus | Yes | Kraus | Brian Weismantle |
| Pittsburgh Council District 2 | Theresa Kail-Smith | No | David Binkoski, Amanda Neatrour, Kim Salinetro | Erin Koper |
| Pittsburgh Council DIstrict 4 | Anthony Coghill | Yes | Coghill, Brian Naughton | Tracy L. Larger |
| Pittsburgh Council District 6 | R. Daniel Lavelle | Yes | Lavelle | Jacob J. Dumont |
| Pittsburgh Council District 8 | Erika Strassburger | Yes | Strassburger | Michael Dell |
| Pittsburgh Mayor | Ed Gainey | Yes | Gainey, Corey O’Connor | Tony Moreno, Thomas West |
| PPS Director District 1 | Sylvia Wilson | No | Carlos Thomas, Tawana Cook Purnell | |
| PPS Director District 3 | Sala Udin | No | Erikka Grayson, Tonya Fores | |
| PPS Director District 5 | Tracey Reed | Yes | Reed | |
| PPS Director District 7 | Jamie Piotrowski | No | Mehdi Bey, Eva Diodati | |
| PPS Director District 9 | Gene Walker | Yes | Lauren E. Stuparitz, Allison A. Petonic, Walker |
Judges standing for retention elections
Judges in Pennsylvania serve 10-year terms, and run for re-election in retention elections. That means that instead of choosing between multiple candidates, voters see a yes-or-no question next to a judge’s name to decide if they get another term. The Supreme Court is Pennsylvania’s highest court, Superior Court handles appeals and Commonwealth Court largely handles matters involving state or local government.
| Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | Christine L. Donohue, Kevin M. Dougherty, David N. Wecht |
|---|---|
| Superior Court | Alice B. Dubow |
| Commonwealth Court | Michael H. Wojcik |
| Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County | Edward J. Borkowski, Alan D. Hertzberg, Beth A. Lazzara, Jennifer S. McCrady, Hugh F. McGough, Dan D. Regan, Dwayne D. Woodruff |
Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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