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 leading in the crowded Democratic race.

A poll by the business-organized labor group Pittsburgh Works Together, conducted between April 29 and May 1, showed that 32% of likely Democratic voters supported Innamorato in the six-way race, followed by 20% for both Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein and Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb.

Former Allegheny County Councilman Dave Fawcett of Oakmont found himself in a distant fourth place in the latest poll, with support from 9% of likely Democratic voters, while Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Sciulli Colaizzi and activist William Parker of Garfield both polled less than 2%.

The poll, with a 4.9% margin of error, said 18% of likely Democratic voters remained undecided.

A poll conducted by the same group from Feb. 28 to March 5 showed Weinstein with support from 28% of likely Democratic voters, followed by Lamb at 24% and Innamorato at 17%.

Innamorato, 37, surged with the help of a large and active group of campaign volunteers, observers say. Service-workers unions and progressive and environmental groups have rallied to raise her name recognition and share her platform with voters. She also raised the second-highest amount of money in the race this year.

Even Lamb, who has fought for several progressive causes over the years, appears to have conceded the progressive mantle to Innamorato in the race.

“The progressive movement has chosen their champion and unfortunately that isn’t us,” said Lamb campaign manager Jindale Suh.

On the moderate side of the ticket, Weinstein, 59, of Kennedy, has stayed quiet about his campaign’s electoral strategy and appeared to be unbothered by the progressive movement rallying behind Innamorato. He has raised the most campaign cash this year, nearly $1.4 million, and used it to hit the airwaves early and often — touting his decadeslong experience in elected office and warning that the county’s prosperity and public safety could be in jeopardy if he doesn’t win.

Lamb, 60, of Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood has focused on voters who might not be as left-leaning as the progressive Innamorato but are wary of Weinstein and his message. Lamb’s campaign has been aggressively knocking on voters’ doors and raising money.

Virginia-based pollster Gene Ulm, who conducted the Pittsburgh Works Together poll for Public Opinion Strategies, said Innamorato’s surge isn’t a surprise.

Ulm said Allegheny County’s growing progressive voter base is a cohesive bloc that appears to have coalesced around Innamorato, while more moderate voters looking for another option are choosing between five other candidates. But he said the race is far from decided and a lot of factors could alter the outcome, including voter turnout, negative ads and television spending.

Ground game

Innamorato’s campaign has been active, reaching out to voters where they live. Campaign spokesman Sam Wasserman said nearly 1,000 people have volunteered on the campaign, and another 100 people in aligned organizations are canvassing for Innamorato. The labor unions backing Innamorato also will be offering up members to help in the homestretch of the campaign, Wasserman said.

Wasserman said the campaign has knocked on 60,000 doors, including 30,000 from direct campaign volunteers and 30,000 from an environmental group backing Innamorato.

The Lamb campaign said it has used about 60 dedicated volunteers to canvass the county for votes. Suh said the campaign has knocked on 20,000 doors to reach out to voters — including 1,000 by Lamb himself in the past week.

The Weinstein campaign declined an interview request for this story and did not provide any details about its campaign operations. In a statement, the campaign said Weinstein’s message of improving public safety, infrastructure and air and water quality while “fixing the messed up” property assessment system and “ending political divisiveness” has resonated with voters.

Fawcett campaign manager Mike Butler said the campaign has dozens of volunteers, but he wouldn’t say how many voters they have reached directly. He acknowledged that Fawcett “doesn’t have the army” Innamorato has, but has some inroads in the Mon Valley and has made fans for his proposal to build a countywide park along the three rivers.

Door-knocking, phone banking and direct texting aren’t the only ways to reach voters.

Media advertising is important, said Abigail Gardner, campaign manager for U.S. Rep Summer Lee’s successful 2022 campaign.

She said no candidate has overwhelmed the others with TV ads in the race, and the fundraising gap between top contenders isn’t enough for one to make a huge splash over the others.

Campaign cash

Political donors gave more than $3 million to Allegheny County executive candidates this year, according to campaign filings.

Weinstein raised the most funds with nearly $1.4 million, buoyed by $100,000 each from the Operating Engineers and Steamfitters unions. Weinstein also got some big personal checks from corporate executives.

Innamorato raised the second-most money with nearly $843,000, the reports showed. She had more than 600 donations of less than $250 apiece, leading the field in the number of small-dollar donors.

Fawcett raised $630,000 this year, including a $350,000 loan from his personal finances.

Lamb raised $628,000 this year, including $75,000 from incumbent Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who endorsed Lamb last month.

Both Sciulli Colaizzi and Parker had raised less than $100 each, the reports showed.

The lone Republican candidate, Joe Rockey of Ohio Township, raised $209,000, about half from a loan from his personal finances. He is unopposed in his bid for the GOP nomination.

Weinstein also led in campaign spending, but it wasn’t by an overwhelming amount. He had spent $1.4 million as of last week, but Fawcett was second with $930,000. Both Weinstein and Fawcett have used a large portion of their money on TV ads. Weinstein has been on the airwaves the longest, but Butler said Fawcett ads have been up since late March and that Fawcett has spent the most on TV advertising over the past six weeks.

Gardner said no candidate has dominated the airwaves or ad spending so far. Barring an effective late ad campaign, it will depend on which campaign can do the best job of reaching out to undecided voters and lukewarm supporters of other candidates while ensuring that their own base of impassioned supporters goes to the polls or votes by mail.

New tactics

While Lamb, Weinstein and Fawcett spent most of the campaign sparring among themselves in the headlines and on the airwaves, they only recently turned attacks on Innamorato.

Weinstein sent out text messages to voters May 4 directly attacking Innamorato, calling her “divisive” and “extreme” in what was one of the first direct attacks of the race on Innamorato. On May 8, Lamb held a news conference to reiterate his criticism of Weinstein, who has been hit by allegations of ethics violations, but Lamb also took a shot at Innamorato, attacking her record as a state legislator.

Weinstein has put out subsequent ads attacking Innamorato.

“We can’t allow the failed progressive agenda that is destroying our city, to destroy our county,” says a Weinstein ad released Tuesday.

Split bases

Both Ulm and Gardner said progressives could make up as much as 40% of the Democratic electorate in Allegheny County, which wouldn’t be enough to win a two-candidate race, but is more than enough to win in a multicandidate field.

“Pittsburgh is more of a university town and a health care town now, than an industrial steel city,” Ulm said. “If (Innamorato) is dominating 40% of the electorate, she is in good shape.”

With less than a week to go, Gardner said it will take more to make a dent in Innamorato’s momentum.

“It would have taken a really significant amount of money, and solid persuasion from Lamb to move progressives off of Sara months ago,” Gardner said. “Absent really dramatic spending, or really dramatic stories, the trajectory was always going to move in her direction.”