PA: Primary maps show suburbs are split -- and will sway Allegheny County politics
Voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary elections in Allegheny County was about 26%, well above the 16% turnout in 2019, the last time the county executive was on the ballot. The jump in participation coincided with a competitive Democratic primary for executive (incumbent Rich Fitzgerald ran unopposed in 2019) and spirited contests for several other countywide offices.
Turnout increased in almost every precinct in the county, but the surge wasn’t uniform. Some Mon Valley communities saw numbers well below the countywide increase of 10 percentage points, while some southern and western suburbs like Mt. Lebanon, Kennedy, Sewickley and Bell Acres were well ahead of that figure.
Turnout in Pittsburgh rose a modest 7.89 percentage points, driven by more significant jumps in the politically active 14th Ward (dominated by Squirrel Hill), Highland Park and some southern neighborhoods. In an echo of 2022 turnout trends, some of the city’s predominantly Black areas like Homewood, the Hill District and several neighborhoods north of the Allegheny River saw turnout increase less than average or even decline.
Progressive state Rep. Sara Innamorato won the Democratic nomination for county executive with a dominant performance in Pittsburgh, but also by winning pluralities in affluent suburbs like Sewickley, Franklin Park, Fox Chapel and Mt. Lebanon.
https://www.publicsource.org/sara-innamorato-joe-rockey-democrat-republican-allegheny-county-election-pittsburgh-suburbs-turnout/
