Former Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner John Ackerman was poised to upset first-term incumbent Coroner Tim Carson in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

With 294 of 306 precincts reporting, Ackerman had 53% and a nearly 1,700 vote edge over Carson, who received more than 46%.

All results are unofficial until certified by the county’s election board.

Ackerman, 68, of Hempfield, acknowledged his victory in a social media post.

“We are thrilled with the election results and truly appreciate the confidence the residents of Westmoreland County have in my ability to continue my commitment to public service,” Ackerman wrote.

He served about 20 years as a deputy coroner until he retired in 2022. During that tenure, he said he participated in more than 9,000 death investigations and 500 autopsies and trained and oversaw a canine program that helped officials find human remains. The program was terminated by Carson after he took office.

Ackerman’s campaign focused on his experience, proposing expanded community outreach and restoration of the canine program. After he left the coroner’s office, he continued to volunteer, along with his dog, Rio, with state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as local first responders. He also worked as a part-time police officer in Southwest Greensburg and as a volunteer firefighter.

Carson, 55, of East Huntingdon is finishing up his first term, taking over the row office that for nearly a half-century had been held first by Democrat Leo Bacha and later his son, Ken Bacha, whom Carson defeated in 2021.

“I’m definitely disappointed and I’d like to congratulate John,” Carson said. “I’m proud of what we did in 3½ years. We just came up short (tonight),” Carson said.

Carson has had a long career in county government, working for about a decade as a sergeant in the sheriff’s office and chief deputy to former Register of Wills Earl Keim. A longtime Democrat, Carson also served as Scottdale mayor before he switched political parties in 2012. He continues to run a restaurant and catering business in the borough.

Almost immediately after taking office, Carson instituted changes, including ending the office’s contract with private pathologist Cyril Wecht, who had performed autopsies for Westmoreland coroners for decades. Wecht died two years later.

The coroner’s office last year conducted more than 3,000 death investigations and performed 118 autopsies.

Carson also touted initiatives to bury unclaimed remains and formed partnerships with nonprofit organizations to promote organ donation, provide cribs to underserved communities and offer suicide counseling.

He touted cost-saving programs, such as limiting autopsies for drug overdose victims in cases that do not result in criminal investigations and terminating the coroner’s human remains detection program, the canine unit that was run by Ackerman.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)