Overview and Live Results: Pennsylvania Primaries

This Tuesday, we're following primaries in Pennsylvania and a State Senate special election in New York. 

In this article, we'll cover the Pennsylvania primaries. New York Special Election >>

Pennsylvania Primary

The Mayor of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia's District Attorney, both Democrats, will need to prevail against credible challengers to win renomination. There are also two appellate court primaries. The general election is November 4.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. 

Pittsburgh Mayor

Pittsburgh is the 67th largest city in the United States, with a population of about 308,000.^{1 1}Population rankings are based on July 1, 2024 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area.

Mayor Ed Gainey is seeking a second four-year term. He has drawn a strong primary challenge from Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor.

Four years ago, it was Gainey who ousted two-term incumbent Bill Peduto in the Democratic primary. 

The winner of this primary will be heavily favored in November. The last GOP mayor here left office in 1934.

Tony Moreno, a retired police officer, and Thomas West, who owns a small business, are competing in the GOP primary. Moreno was also the party's nominee in 2021, even though he was on the Democratic primary ballot.

No Republicans filed that year, so all the votes were write-in. The vast majority of these votes went to candidates competing for the Democratic nomination. Moreno received the greatest number of these.^{2 2}Under Pennsylvania law, a write-in candidate with more votes than the signatures required to get on the ballot for that office is eligible to win the party's nomination. Moreno accepted the nomination and switched his party affiliation. 

Gainey defeated Moreno by a 71% to 28% margin in the 2021 general election.

Philadelphia District Attorney

As AP reports, "Larry Krasner, still standing after a failed impeachment attempt and years of criticism from President Donald Trump and other Republicans, is striking a confident tone as he seeks a third term as district attorney in the nation’s sixth most populous city."

Krasner is being challenged by former Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan, who resigned his seat to take on the incumbent. He's outraised the more progressive Krasner by nearly 2-1.

No Republicans are contesting the seat. However, the local Party is encouraging voters to write-in Dugan. If Dugan loses Tuesday's Democratic primary, but gets more than 1,000 votes in the Republican primary, he will be the nominee (if he accepts it).

While a November rematch with Krasner might not yield a win in this heavily Democratic city, it would be a somewhat different electorate. Pennsylvania has closed primaries, meaning only registered members of a party can participate in Tuesday's contests.   

Judicial

Superior Court and Commonwealth Court are the state's two intermediate appellate courts. There is one vacancy on each Court that will be filled in elections this November.

These primaries are taking place because Pennsylvania is one of a small number of states that holds partisan elections for judges. 

In both cases, two are competing for the GOP nomination, while the Democrat is unopposed.

For more on the candidates, see this article.

Looking ahead to November, three Democratic Justices on the State Supreme Court will face retention votes (yes or no) for another ten-year term. If any are ousted, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) will appoint a temporary replacement until an election for a full term is held in 2027.

Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority on the State Supreme Court.

Upcoming Scheduled Elections

• June 7
  • San Antonio and Garland Mayor (Runoffs)
• June 10
  • New Jersey Primary
• June 17
  • Virginia Primary
• June 24
  • New York City Mayor Primary

Upcoming Special Elections

• June 3
  • South Carolina State House District 50
• June 10
  • Florida State House District 3
  • Florida State Senate District 19
  • New Jersey State Senate District 35 (Primary)
    • General Election November 4
  • Oklahoma State House District 97 (Primary)
    • General Election September 9
• June 24
  • Alabama State Senate District 5
  • California State Assembly District 63 (Primary)
    • General Election August 26 (if needed)
  • Florida State Senate District 15 and State House District 40 (Primary)
    • General Election September 2
  • New Hampshire State House District Strafford 12
• July 15
  • Arizona Congressional District 7 (Primary)