Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto conceded defeat to state Rep. Ed Gainey in a four-way Democratic primary race for mayor, positioning Gainey to become the first Black mayor in the city’s history.

With 393 of the city’s 402 voting precincts reporting results around 1:15 a.m., Gainey had received about 46.2% of the votes counted, while Peduto collected 39.3%, retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno had 13.1% and math tutor and ride-hailing-service driver Michael Thompson had 1.2%, the tallies showed.

Peduto had taken to Twitter about an hour earlier to congratulate Gainey.

“I just called (Gainey) and congratulated him on earning the Democratic endorsement for mayor of the city of Pittsburgh,” Peduto wrote. “Wishing him well. Thank you Pittsburgh for the honor of being your mayor these past 8 years. I will remain forever grateful.”

There was a mood of jubilation at Gainey’s party outside a North Side union hall after polls closed. He took time to pose for selfies with supporters in front of a wall covered with Gainey signs as a disc jockey played songs like “Celebration” and “Don’t Stop Believing.”

“Right now, we’re just grateful for the people of Pittsburgh. To be able to elect me … and talk about building a city for all. This is what it’s all about,” Gainey said. “We’re going to make sure that we build a city for all.”

The mayoral race featured two political insiders, Peduto, 56, of Point Breeze, and Gainey, 51, of Lincoln-Lemington, and two political novices, Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights, and Thompson, 38, of Oakland.

Talk of equity and reform united the men during the campaign, but each offered different approaches to the subject.

Pittsburgh’s Democratic primary generally decides citywide races. The city hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since the 1930s. No Republican, third-party or independent candidates have emerged in this year’s race.

Peduto had been seeking a third term in office, something rare in the city’s history.

His supporters were quiet and talked in small groups at the IBEW Union Hall on the South Side. Early returns had Peduto ahead, but the lead kept getting smaller as more votes were counted. Shockwaves were felt via smartphones in the moments after Peduto conceded the election using a tweet.

Some Peduto staffers were in tears while others said things such as “that’s politics.”

Gainey had been seeking to do something unprecedented. A Black person has never been mayor of Pittsburgh.

“This is an historic moment for the city of Pittsburgh and certainly for the African American community to have a potential mayor-elect who is African American,” said Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh-based Black Political Empowerment Project.

“Hopefully this will engender in our African American youth, boys and girls, that all things are possible if you only believe and continue to press forward with the commitments you want to make in life,” Stevens added.

Stevens said he felt that, in Gainey, this election offered the “highest probability or possibility” of a Black candidate earning the Democratic mayoral nomination since attorney and civil rights activist Byrd Brown ran for the office in 1989.

Beyond the historical significance of Gainey’s victory from a racial perspective, Stevens said, “I think Ed is intelligent enough to know that this has to be a victory for all the people of Pittsburgh. Obviously the people who helped elect him are communities he has a relationship with and a responsibility to, communities who have felt marginalized, but his priorities will be dealing with those communities and the needs of the city as a whole.”

Ed Gainey speaks after winning the Democratic endorsement for Mayor of the city of Pittsburgh @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/eRS3lhI9Ju

— Nate Smallwood (@nsmallwoodphoto) May 19, 2021

Gainey is in his fifth term representing the 24th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Before that, he was a legislative aide to longtime state Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. of East Liberty. He went on to run against Preston three times for the seat, prevailing in 2012. Before winning the House seat, Gainey was a community development specialist for former Pittsburgh mayors Tom Murphy and Luke Ravenstahl.

Gainey was endorsed by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, SEIU Healthcare PA and others, including city Councilwoman Deb Gross.

Peduto had the support of the eight other city council members, SEIU 32BJ, and a bevy of others.

Moreno ran a populist campaign as an outsider to politics-as-usual. He promised pragmatic decisions if elected.

Thompson was the youngest candidate. He is a math tutor and ride-hailing-service driver who touted his education at Brown University and a Mr. Rogers-like approach to city business.

The candidates held separate events after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

Tribune-Review senior news editor Tom Fontaine contributed to this report.

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