Election category, Page 73
‘I never wanted to be a career politician’: Gina Cerilli Thrasher reflects on 2 terms as Westmoreland commissioner
Gina Cerilli Thrasher is looking forward to a break from politics. That means trading the public spotlight and sometimes odd hours as Westmoreland County commissioner for dinners at home with her family and more downtime. Her February announcement that she would not be hitting the campaign trail for a third...
Lawmakers push for earlier presidential primary
The date of next year’s primary conflicts with a major religious holiday, and some state lawmakers have taken notice. The 2024 Pennsylvania primary is set for April 23. It conflicts with the Jewish holiday of Passover and takes place after many states already would have voted for a presidential nominee...
Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law gets beaten up on GOP campaign trail
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Election integrity and Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law are prominent subjects in the state’s Republican primary contest for an open state Supreme Court seat, as Donald Trump continues to baselessly claim that the 2020 election was stolen. This year, two GOP primary rivals for the state Supreme Court...
Biden endorses Democrat in special election with Pa. House control at stake
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Democrat running for a vacant seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives received President Joe Biden’s endorsement Monday in a race likely to determine control of the legislative chamber, with implications for abortion rights, the 2024 presidential contest and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s agenda. Biden cited the...
School board races serve as culture war battlegrounds
Darlene Ciocca had served nearly a dozen years as a member of the Norwin School Board and, in February, faced a decision that on the surface seemed completely out of place — one that involved a political calculation to determine whether to seek another term in office. The divisive political...
Election Day: What you need to know
Tuesday is Election Day. Allegheny County’s more than 890,000 and Westmoreland County’s more than 243,000 registered voters will head to the polls to nominate candidates for state judge, county offices including county execitive, county council, commissioner, judge and sheriff, as well as school boards, local city and borough councils and...
Allegheny, Westmoreland, Alle-Kiski Valley races to watch in Tuesday’s primary
Voters will go to the polls Tuesday with a slew of political races on the ballot. Allegheny County will be picking a Democratic nominee in a six-candidate race for county executive, while the county’s longtime district attorney is facing possibly his toughest primary challenge in more than two decades. There...
Allegheny County primary race for DA offers clear differences between candidates
Longtime Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. is facing chief public defender Matt Dugan in a Democratic primary race featuring candidates with widely divergent views. Zappala has garnered headlines during the campaign for targeting security measures at Kennywood amusement park, while Dugan has been boosted by large sums...
3 Democrats running for mayor in Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant Mayor Diane Bailey will face two Democratic challengers in Tuesday’s primary election. The winner will face off in the fall against Republican Nicholas Lucia, who in unopposed on the GOP ballot in a bid to succeed his grandfather as mayor. Jerry Lucia died Dec. 17, 2021, at 76,...
2 races in GOP primary for North Huntingdon commissioner
Republican voters in North Huntingdon Wards 1 and 3 will have to choose between two candidates for township commissioner in the May 16 primary. The outcome of next week’s voting likely will decide the races, as there are no Democrats on the ballot in either contest for a four-year term...
2023 primary day election guide: Details on races, candidates, issues in Western Pa.
Primary day is today. Here’s a guide to the many local races through Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote. The state has an online tool to let voters find their polling...
Mt. Pleasant voters have choices for council nominees in Republican primary
Republican primary voters in Mt. Pleasant will choose between two candidates — Tim Bauer and Andy Davis — vying for a two-year term representing the 1st Ward on borough council. Also on the May 16 GOP ballot, incumbent Linda L. Czekanski is competing with challengers James P. Rega II and...
Campaigns turn up heat in crowded Democratic primary race for Allegheny County executive
Allegheny County executive candidates — and groups aggressively campaigning on behalf of some of them — are making their closing arguments to voters with less than a week to go until Tuesday’s primary. State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, has appeared to gain some momentum, with a recent poll showing her...
Pennsylvania GOP puts clout back on line in primary after losing ’22 Senate, governor races
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is trying to learn from internal strife over last year’s failure to endorse in premier primary contests and, this year, it is putting its clout on the line by issuing endorsements ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. Republicans are now putting up big bucks to try...
Pennsylvania House battle hinges on Philadelphia suburbs
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democrats who reclaimed the Pennsylvania House majority in November and clung to a one-seat margin by sweeping three special elections earlier this year face yet another contest for control of the chamber next week, when voters will fill a vacancy in the Philadelphia suburbs. At stake in...
Allegheny County executive candidates raise more than $3M
Candidates for Allegheny County executive have raised more than $3 million this year, a record haul for the race for the county’s top elected position. Five of the six Democratic candidates submitted campaign finance reports by the May 5 deadline. They included former County Councilman Dave Fawcett, state Rep. Sara...
Judge: Wisconsin fake electors complaint must be reheard
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge said Monday he will order that the state elections commission reconsider a complaint filed against fake Republican electors who attempted in 2020 to cast the state’s electoral ballots for former President Donald Trump. But this time, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington said, the...
‘My career of 280 years’: Biden jokes off 2024 age concerns
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden served in the Senate for 270 years. He used to be three years older than his sister Valerie, but now has 20 years on her. And the fourth U.S. president — whom Biden affectionally calls “Jimmy” Madison — is a good friend. All kidding aside, the...
Sequel set for GOP Westmoreland Commissioner primary
Westmoreland County’s Republican primary for commissioner is a sequel. Five of the same seven candidates who sought GOP nominations four years ago are again on the ballot this spring, with incumbents Doug Chew and Sean Kertes facing challenges from Patricia Fritz, Paul Kosko and John Ventre. The Republicans are vying...
Black voters backing Biden, but not with 2020 enthusiasm
COLUMBIA, S.C. — LaJoia Broughton, a 41-year-old small-business owner, considers herself a fan of President Joe Biden. He’s provided opportunities for Black-owned business while bringing integrity to the White House, she said. Her decision for 2024 is not in doubt. “Biden has proven himself in the last few years, and...
Primary likely to decide supervisor seats in Unity, Hempfield
Republicans will battle it out within their own party primaries May 16 to earn a spot on the November election ballot in Unity and Hempfield township supervisor races. No Democrats have filed to contend for one open seat in Unity and two open seats in Hempfield. Unity Three Republicans —...
Kertes top fundraiser among Westmoreland GOP commissioner candidates
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes has amassed more than $181,000 in his bid for a second term, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday. Kertes was the top fundraiser among the five Republican candidates seeking two nominations in the May 16 primary and, in the six-week period between mid-March and...
4 vie for Greensburg mayor after police, community shaken by former chief’s arrest
Candidates for Greensburg mayor have cited a range of issues they say they’d like to tackle — among them supporting Greensburg’s business community, improving downtown access and restoring citizen confidence in a city police department that has been rocked by recent arrests of its officers. The field is evenly split...
2 Greensburg Council members face challenger in Democratic primary
Greensburg voters will have a choice among two incumbents, Randal Finfrock and Sheila Brumley, and challenger Gabrielle Stewart when nominating candidates for two open City Council seats in the May 16 Democratic Party primary. Finfrock, 72, is seeking his fifth term on council, where he serves as director of accounts...
Murrysville attorneys vie to replace Conway at Export district court
After more than two decades as a district judge in Export, Charles Conway will retire from the bench at the end of the year, and two candidates from Murrysville will compete in the May primary election to fill his shoes. Judi P. Petrush, 55, has worked as an assistant district...
