Five For Friday: A way-too-early municipal election preview

Thanks to the results of this week’s municipal primary elections, Pennsylvania voters now have an idea of who will be on the ballot in their respective cities this fall. Some races – like in Pittsburgh and Erie – will decide who will occupy key mayoral offices, while others will vote on races for district attorney and other municipal roles. 

Below, City & State takes a way-too-early look at five major municipal races happening in the commonwealth this fall and who will be on the ballot.

Pittsburgh poised for new leadership

Pittsburgh will have a new mayor in 2026 following this week’s mayoral primary in the Steel City. Democratic incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey was unable to fend off a challenge from Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, the son of former Mayor Bob O’Connor, meaning O’Connor advances to the general election on Nov. 4 and will likely become the city’s next chief executive – Pittsburgh hasn’t elected a Republican to the mayor’s office since the 1930s. Still, O’Connor will first have to defeat Republican Tony Moreno, a retired police officer who won the GOP nomination on May 20.

Philly runs it back with Krasner

Fending off his most-well-funded primary challenger yet, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner defeated Patrick Dugan in the Democratic primary, putting him in line to be just the second DA since the 1950s to serve more than two terms. Krasner, who received more than 64% of the vote, touted steep declines in homicides and won by a wide margin – even with low voter turnout. And with no Republican filing to run, Krasner is poised to win a third four-year term in November. 

Williams advances to general election in Harrisburg

A five-way Democratic primary race for mayor of Harrisburg turned out to be a nail-biter, as incumbent Mayor Wanda Williams was able to re-secure the Democratic nomination by just 83 votes. Williams faced challenges from City Treasurer Dan Miller, City Councilmember Lamont Jones, activist Tone Cooke and perennial candidate Lewis Butts. Miller was the next-highest vote getter in Harrisburg’s Democratic primary, but he was unable to earn enough votes to knock off Williams, who now looks set to win another four years as mayor, barring a surprise in November. 

Erie voters choose new direction

Just like voters in Pittsburgh, residents of Erie chose change at the ballot box, opting to elect Democrat Daria Devlin, a member of the Erie School Board, over two-term incumbent Joe Schember, who has served as mayor of Erie since 2018. After clinching victory this week by around 420 votes, Devlin will go on to face Republican Matt Thomas –who was unopposed in the GOP primary – in the general election on Tuesday Nov. 4. 

Commonwealth cities stick with incumbents

Harrisburg isn’t the only municipality to have its mayor win a contested primary election. In Scranton, incumbent Mayor Paige Cognetti easily defeated her challenger to set up a general election matchup against Republican Trish Beynon, a construction company accounting executive. Elsewhere, in Allentown, Mayor Matt Tuerk also won his party’s nomination handily, defeating Ed Zucal and setting himself up to serve a second four-year term. And just east of Allentown, in the City of Bethlehem, incumbent Mayor J. William Reynolds held off a challenge from Gracie Crampsie Smith, putting him in place to capture a second term in November.