Election category, Page 131
Joe Sestak relishes long-shot bid among Democratic presidential hopefuls
While the top 20 Democratic presidential contenders prepared for last week’s debates, retired Navy admiral and former two-term Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak traveled the road less taken as a long-shot presidential hopeful. This time, it was a series of meet-and-greet events in Iowa. It’s not the first time the maverick...
New Ken-Arnold School Board: 2 incumbents out, another tied
At least two incumbents of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board are on their way out, and another’s tenure appears to be hanging in the balance, according to Westmoreland County’s unofficial election results. In the Democratic Party race for Region I, two candidates received the same number of votes for one...
All school board candidates in North Hills, North Allegheny win nominations
Tuesday’s primary did nothing to thin the ranks of candidates seeking the five seats on the North Allegheny and North Hills school boards that will become vacant at the end of the year. All the candidates in both districts who ran in the May 21 primary were nominated to run...
Close Lower Burrell council race sees 1 incumbent dumped, mayor loses bid as well
Attorney Steve Yakopec Jr. squeaked by in the 11th hour — literally — of election night Tuesday to win a Democratic nomination for one of two city council seats up for grabs in November. Yakopec edged out incumbent Democrat Christopher Koziarski by just five votes, but only after absentee ballots...
How did the region’s embattled candidates fare in the primary?
Several incumbents went into Tuesday’s primary election facing strong criticism or controversy over decisions they made in office. Some won, some lost. Here’s a look at how the embattled candidates fared. Bobby Wilson topples Darlene Harris for Pittsburgh City Council District 1 Unofficial vote tallies show Wilson taking more than...
No surprises among uncontested primary races in North Hills
A number of candidates in North Hills municipalities with seats up for re-election faced no competition for their party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary. A candidate who runs unchallenged in the primary automatically receives their party’s nomination unless a write-in candidate gets more votes. A minimum of 10 write-in votes are...
Cheswick primary comes up 2 candidates short for council spots
The race for Cheswick Council appears to have still come up two people short after Tuesday’s primary election. Republican incumbents Michael Girardi and Brad Yaksich were the only two running for three open four-year seats and one open two-year seat. Girardi got the nomination for both the two-year seat and...
2 Tarentum council members lose seats in primary
Two incumbent Tarentum council members lost their seats in Tuesday’s primary, according to unofficial election results. In the Democratic race for a four-year, at-large seat, Councilman Tim Cornuet lost his bid for re-election to 3rd Ward Councilwoman Carrie Fox, who also won her party’s nomination for her four-year seat in...
2 McCandless council members knocked off in GOP primary
Two first-term McCandless council members who were propelled into office amid community outrage over plans to build a Walmart supercenter, failed to win party nominations in Tuesday’s primary to run for a second term. Ward 1 Council President Kim Zachary lost the Ward 1 Republican nomination to Greg Martin, who...
Andrejcik tops Callender for Democratic Lower Burrell mayor nomination; Yakopec gets shot at council
First-time political candidate John Andrejcik clinched a victory over incumbent Lower Burrell Mayor Richard Callender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, preliminary vote tallies show. Andrejcik, 60, a Navy veteran and retired Allegheny County Common Pleas court reporter, secured 55% of the vote to Callender’s 45%, with all nine precincts reporting, according...
Incumbent, challenger earn Democratic nods for Harrison commissioner
The husband of a district judge edged out an incumbent Harrison commissioner in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary, while another incumbent on the ballot cruised to victory. In Harrison’s 3rd Ward, challenger Eric S. Bengel defeated incumbent Robin Bergstrom by 18 votes, 182-164, according to unofficial results. Bengel, who had never...
3 incumbents, 2 challengers earn nods in Gateway races
There will likely be some new faces on the Gateway school board as two political newcomers were among the top five vote-getters in Tuesday’s primaries, according to unofficial results. Seven candidates cross-filed to seek five nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries. On the Democratic ticket, challenger...
Calabrese captures Democratic nod for Penn Hills mayor
Penn Hills voters picked Pauline Calabrese as their Democratic nominee for the municipality’s next mayor during the May 21 primary election. Calabrese, 56, earned 53% of the votes in Penn Hills with all precincts reporting unofficial results. Her opponent, current Councilman John Petrucci, had 47% of the votes. Current Mayor...
2 challengers win Democratic nods in Penn Hills Council race
Challengers Frank Pecora and Jim Getsy won the two Democratic nominations for Penn Hills Council May 21 in a crowded race with seven candidates, including an incumbent. With all precincts reporting unofficial results, Pecora had collected 19% of the votes counted followed by Getsy’s 18%. Incumbent Mark Brodnicki finished second-to-last...
Plum School District Republican committee members earn sweep for party nods; Dem newcomers get nods
Plum School District’s packed primary race resulted in Republican committee-endorsed candidates sweeping their party nods with several Democratic newcomers on the November ballot, ensuring a contested general election for six seats. Incumbents Steve Schlauch (14.13 %), Sue Caldwell (13.18 %) and Karin Acquaviva (11.92 %), along with fellow Republicans Jacqueline...
Democrat Joe Bia ousts embattled Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi
The challenger who defeated incumbent Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi in Tuesday’s primary called her actions last summer “an embarrassment” to the city, and it appears many Democratic voters agreed based on Joe Bia II’s victory by a three-to-one margin. Bia, an Arnold councilman with two years left in his first...
Incumbents cruise in Export; at least one newcomer headed to Delmont council
With 100% of the relevant precincts reporting, primary results in the Star’s coverage area are as follows as of 10 p.m.: DELMONT COUNCIL Dennis Urban (R, 48%) and Becky Matesevac (R, 43%), 79 total write-in votes (45 Democrat, 34 Republican). Write-in votes are a factor in this race because there...
Highlands incumbent Michelle Peters ousted by challengers
Two challengers sent an incumbent packing Tuesday in primary races for Highlands School Board, according to unofficial results. All three candidates cross-filed to seek two nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries in Highlands’ Region 3. Kristie J. Babinsack, 46, won the GOP and Democratic races, collecting...
GOP’s Fred Keller wins Pennsylvania’s special U.S. House election
HARRISBURG — Republican Fred Keller, a conservative state lawmaker, won the special election for Congress on Tuesday in a heavily Republican district that sprawls across areas of central and northern Pennsylvania that are a stronghold for President Trump. Keller, of Snyder County, will replace Republican Tom Marino, who resigned in...
Former planning commissioner wins contested Monroeville Council race
An incumbent and a political newcomer who ran unopposed for Monroeville Council in Tuesday’s primary sailed to victory while a former planning commissioner edged out his opponent, according to unofficial tallies. In Ward 6, Bob Williams, 75, earned 55.5% of the votes counted compared with opponent Domenic Russo Jr.’s 44.2%...
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney easily fends off 2 challengers in primary
PHILADELPHIA — Democrat Jim Kenney is poised to keep his job as mayor of the nation’s sixth largest city after fending off two challengers in Tuesday’s primary who criticized his signature achievement: a soda tax to help provide free preschool classes. The victory all but assures Kenney will stay on...
Joe Pittman wins big in state Senate special election
A longtime aide to former state Sen. Don White will replace his former boss in Harrisburg, according to unofficial election results. Republican Joe Pittman collected nearly two-thirds of the votes cast in Tuesday’s primary to defeat Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor Susan Boser in a special election race in the...
Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris concedes to Bobby Wilson, other incumbents win
A medical researcher from Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood appears to have ousted incumbent City Councilwoman Darlene Harris in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Harris, who was seeking her fourth term, conceded the race to Bobby Wilson, 36, shortly before 9:30 p.m. With 100% of precincts reporting as of 11 p.m., Wilson had...
Election results: 2019 primary
Click here for the 2019 primary election results from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties....
Zappala wins race for DA, while 2 Allegheny County Council incumbents fall
Two Allegheny County Council incumbents fell to challengers in Tuesday’s primary, but longtime District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. defeated the first challenger he’s faced in two decades. Political newcomer Bethany Hallam defeated longtime Allegheny Councilman John DeFazio in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for a shot at one of two at-large...
