An outspoken Democratic congresswoman from Allegheny County’s eastern suburbs is poised to earn her party’s nomination to run for another term in Washington in the November election.

As of 9:35 p.m., with 47% of the 12th Congressional District’s precincts reporting unofficial results, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, had collected nearly 81% of the votes tallied compared to about 19% for challenger Will Parker.

Parker is an app developer who previously launched unsuccessful, low-budget bids to become Allegheny County executive, Pittsburgh mayor and U.S. senator.

The Associated Press called the race for Lee at 8:58 p.m.

Lee, now in her second term in Washington, has trounced opponents quickly at the polls before. In 2024, The Associated Press called the race for Lee just 12 minutes after polls closed.

In November, Lee will again face Republican candidate James Hayes, a businessman who ran unopposed in Tuesday’s GOP primary. Lee beat Hayes with 60% of the vote in 2024.

The 12th District includes Pittsburgh, suburbs in eastern and southern Allegheny County and communities in western Westmoreland County. Democrats hold a 2-to-1 voter-registration edge in Allegheny County.

Lee, 38, the first Black woman elected to represent Pennsylvania in Congress, has told TribLive that politicians need new tactics to push back against encroaching authoritarianism. She served as a state representative in Harrisburg from 2019 to 2022 before her election to Congress.

“What we’re facing is so unprecedented, we can’t approach it in the ways we have in the past,” Lee said. “Everyday people want to have an equal voice in the government. And you can’t have that when Elon Musk is buying a seat in the Oval Office.”

Hayes, the Republican candidate, has criticized “open borders” policies, which he says swell domestic workforce numbers and drive down wages for working Americans — even in places as far removed from the United States’ southern border as Pittsburgh.

Hayes also has defended President Donald Trump and stressed he would not triangulate his political beliefs based on the year an election was taking place.

“I carve my own path,” Hayes said earlier this year. “But, on the other hand, I believe in our democracy. And in our democracy, we reach decisions by consensus.”

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