In the closest race for Allegheny County executive in a generation, Democrat Sara Innamorato eked out a two-point win from an electorate in which her party boasts a two-to-one voter registration advantage over Republicans.
Ms. Innamorato’s 8,300-vote margin over Republican Joe Rockey — out of more than 364,000 votes cast — relied on the strength of her showing in Pittsburgh and a handful of vote-rich suburbs just outside the city.
In just five municipalities, Ms. Innamorato netted more votes than Mr. Rockey gained from the nearly 80 municipalities he won. She emerged from Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Swissvale, and Wilkinsburg with a 39,600-vote advantage over Mr. Rockey. In the 79 municipalities Mr. Rockey won, he netted 39,200 votes.
While the county’s core stayed true to its Democratic voting tradition, several wealthy suburbs that had been trending Democratic in the Trump era — most notably Upper St. Clair and McCandless — returned to their Republican roots and gave the majority of their votes to Mr. Rockey.
First Published: November 8, 2023, 5:36 p.m.
Updated: November 9, 2023, 10:40 a.m.
