Politics Election category, Page 9
U.S. military to establish presence at Damascus airbase, sources say
AMMAN/DAMASCUS — The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The U.S. plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which...
Cheswick sees slate of incumbents hold council seats
Four incumbents on Cheswick Council seeking reelection held onto their seats in Tuesday’s election. The election saw two races — one with five candidates seeking four four-year terms and another with two candidates seeking two two-year terms. Nicholas Pollino earned the most votes in both races but said he’d likely...
West Deer voters retain 2 supervisors, chose a well-known, experienced newcomer
A busy night of races in West Deer resulted in two incumbents getting reelected and one newcomer being named supervisor-at-large. Republican Vince Mercuri, 68, earned 2,237 (50.1%) votes, securing him the supervisor at-large position. He beat Mark B. Schmidt, 70, a Democrat who earned 2,203 (49.4%) votes. “We’re very excited,...
Democrats win all 4 seats on Plum Council
Democrats carried the day in Plum, unseating incumbent Republicans to claim four seats on borough council. Unofficial results show Ryan Delaney as the top voter-getter with 14.5%, followed by James McBride with 13.9%, Raymond Rall with 13.2% and Phoebus Apollo with 12.8%. The Democratic sweep renders incumbents Paul Dern, Steve...
Toney, DiCarolis victors in New Kensington Council election
Democrats Phillip Toney and Nicholas DiCarolis won two seats on New Kensington Council, according to unofficial results from the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau. In the three-candidate race for two seats, Toney had collected 1,800 votes, DiCarolis 1,534. Republican Chase Balla had 1,238. Toney, 70, and DiCarolis, 37, will take the...
Democrats look to build on election wins in Pa., elsewhere as GOP refocuses
Democrats racked up victories in high-profile races across the country Tuesday night, prompting many on the left to view the wins as a repudiation of President Donald Trump and something to build on going into next year’s pivotal midterm elections. Some top Republicans downplayed the results, while others said Tuesday’s...
Supreme Court casts doubt on legality of Trump’s tariff powers
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices raised doubts on Wednesday over the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs in a case with implications for the global economy that marks a major test of Trump’s powers. Conservative and liberal justices sharply questioned the lawyer representing Trump’s administration about whether a 1977...
Judge in Comey case scolds prosecutors as he orders them to produce records from probe
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered prosecutors in the criminal case of former FBI Director James Comey to produce to defense lawyers a trove of materials from the investigation, saying he was concerned the Justice Department’s position had been to “indict first” and investigate second. Magistrate Judge...
Trump grapples with political setback after Democrats ride voter fury over prices
WASHINGTON — It’s been a year since Donald Trump’s decisive win in the 2024 presidential election, and the White House had planned an anniversary rollout on Wednesday highlighting the promises kept by the Republican leader since he returned to office. Instead, the president and his Republican allies were left grappling...
What’s next in the national redistricting fight after California approved a new U.S. House map
The new congressional map that California voters approved marked a victory for Democrats in the national redistricting battle playing out ahead of the 2026 midterm election. But Republicans are still ahead in the fight. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fray began this summer when President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to...
What to know about the Supreme Court arguments over Trump’s tariffs
WASHINGTON — Three lower courts have ruled illegal President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs. Now the Supreme Court, with three justices Trump appointed and generally favorable to muscular presidential power, will have the final word. In roughly two dozen emergency appeals, the justices have largely...
Rebuking Trump, California passes Prop 50 to redistrict in favor of Democrats
California voters sent a strong anti-Donald Trump message on Tuesday by passing Proposition 50, another big win for Democrats during the 2025 off-year election that helps the party in the nationwide redistricting frenzy that will help decide who controls the U.S. House in the final two years of the Republican...
Leechburg Area School Board retains 2 incumbents, adds two new members
The Leechburg Area School Board will be a mix of new and familiar faces this coming year. According to unofficial results from the election bureaus in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, Darius Lovelace, 73, Candi Stewart, 68, Danielle Reinke, 44, and Janie Borsh Symons, 66, will be sworn in for four...
Deer Lakes School Board will have familiar, new faces come December
The Deer Lakes School Board will be a mix of familiar and new faces this December. According to Allegheny County Elections Division unofficial election results, incumbents Jeremy Love, 49, and Kristi Minnick, 55, both cross-filed, and Jonathan Majernik, 46, Democrat ballot, will be sworn back in this December. Newcomer Darlene...
Democrats take all 4 Plum School Board seats, defeat incumbent candidates
A slate of Democrats swept aside a Republican majority on Plum School Board, taking all four of the open seats. Unofficial results show Jill Klipa as the top vote-getter with 14.9%, followed by Adam Hill with 14%, Tiffany Hyde with 13.6% and Geter Sloan with 13%. Among the four victors,...
Incumbents hold onto Springdale Council seats as data center debate continues
Springdale voters elected a slate of four mostly incumbent Democrats to council as hearings for the massive proposed data center in the borough carry on. Among the four victors, three are incumbents. But Deborah Piontek — who rallied the most support — will be a new face on council. According...
Labor Party’s Alex Rose leads in race for at-large seat on Allegheny County Council
Labor Party candidate Alex Rose held a sizable lead Tuesday night over Republican incumbent Mike Embrescia for an at-large seat on Allegheny County Council. Democrats were leading in seven other races in smaller county council districts. If the results hold up, Republicans would hold just one seat on the 15-member...
Democrat Mikie Sherrill elected governor of New Jersey, defeating opponent who aligned with Trump
TRENTON — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday was elected governor of New Jersey, shoring up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member...
Democrats coast to apparent victory in 3 Pittsburgh City Council races
Democrats made a clean sweep Tuesday night across three contested Pittsburgh City Council races, handily defeating their Republican opponents. Voters in the city’s West End neighborhoods, choosing a new council member for the first time since 2010 with the pending retirement of Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, stuck with what they knew....
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus up big in bid for 2nd term
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus held a commanding lead Tuesday night over Republican challenger Brian Weismantle and appeared on his way to a second term in office. As of 11:30 p.m., with 90% of precincts reporting unofficial results and about 115,000 mail-in ballots counted, Kraus, a Democrat, had collected 64.4%...
O’Connor defeats Moreno in Pittsburgh mayor’s race
Democrat Corey O’Connor took the stage before hundreds of supporters at a South Side union hall an hour after polls closed Tuesday night and declared victory in his race for Pittsburgh mayor. “I am humbled and inspired by the great honor and privilege of serving as your next mayor,” O’Connor...
Abigail Spanberger elected Virginia governor in historic first that boosts Democrats ahead of 2026
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first-ever woman to lead the commonwealth. Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s...
2025 Western Pennsylvania election results roundup
The polls closed at 8 p.m. for election day in Western Pennsylvania. The biggest race in the area was for Pittsburgh mayor, while the retention bids of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices are also getting considerable public attention and financial support. In Westmoreland County all three Common Pleas judges were...
Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent
NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who was set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations. In a victory for the Democratic party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
Shutdown may force U.S. to close some air space next week, official sees ‘mass chaos’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that if the federal government shutdown continues another week it could lead to “mass chaos” and could force him to close some of the national airspace to air traffic, a drastic move that could upend American aviation. “If you bring us...
