Sunday, February 23, 2025, 7:50PM |  40°
MENU
Advertisement
Mayor of Braddock John Fetterman
1
MORE

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman pulls off upset victory in lt. governor race

Stephanie Strasburg / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman pulls off upset victory in lt. governor race

HARRISBURG — Philadelphia Democrat Mike Stack on Tuesday became the first lieutenant governor in modern Pennsylvania history to lose a re-election in a primary.

Mr. Stack was dealt a crushing defeat in Tuesday’s election, falling to Braddock Mayor John Fetterman in one of the most hotly contested primaries for lieutenant governor. Four Democrats — Fetterman, Nina Ahmad, a onetime deputy mayor to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone and Montgomery County banker and insurance agent Ray Sosa — had vied to knock Mr. Stack out of the job.

Unofficial vote counts showed Mr. Fetterman drawing nearly 40 percent of the vote, with Mr. Stack getting half as much. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Fetterman had 287,988 votes; Ms. Ahmad had 182,108; Ms. Cozzone had 142,113, Mr. Stack had 127,187, and Mr. Sosa had 27,414.

Advertisement

Mr. Fetterman entered the theater in Braddock where supporters watched poll results at 10:20 p.m. to raucous applause.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, left, and John Fetterman, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, enter the Manchester Cafe for lunch, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Manchester Township, Pa.
Carley Bonk
Watch Tom Wolf and John Fetterman go tie shopping in 'Always Sunny'-style campaign video

“Wow,” Mr. Fetterman told the crowd during his election party victory speech Tuesday night, where he was greeted with thunderous applause, adding: “I want to take our message of 'all places matter'” to the general election.

Mr. Fetterman bills himself as a progressive, which he has said means he will champion “evidence-based public policies that benefit the most people possible.” He was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and various progressive groups.


With the loss, Mr. Stack, who hails from an entrenched political family in Philadelphia, will make the history books: A sitting lieutenant governor has not lost a primary election since state law changed nearly a half-century ago to permit the holder of the office to serve two terms.

Advertisement

Mr. Fetterman will now run alongside Gov. Tom Wolf as a ticket in the fall election, though Mr. Wolf, in an eyebrow-raising move, remained neutral in the primary.

A spokesman for Mr. Stack could not immediately be reached for comment.

On the Republican side of the ledger, Lower Merion real-estate executive Jeff Bartos won 47 percent of the vote over his three primary contenders.

For both major parties, the primary was crowded with challengers seeking to become the state’s second-in-command, which political insiders often jest is the best job in the Capitol. The position comes with a $163,672 annual salary and a 2,400-square-foot mansion funded by taxpayers, yet it involves only a fraction of the work and stress that comes with the governor’s office.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, left, and John Fetterman, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, answer questions from the media outside the Manchester Cafe on Wednesday in Manchester Township, Pa.
Liz Navratil and Angela Couloumbis
Governor's race begins with attacks from both candidates

On the Democratic side, aside from Ms. Ahmad and Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Stack, a onetime state senator, faced challenges from Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone and Montgomery County banker and insurance agent Ray Sosa.

On the Republican side, Mr. Bartos topped Diana Irey Vaughan, a longtime Washington County commissioner; Kathy Coder, a Republican State Committee member from Allegheny County; and Marguerite “Peg” Luksik, from Cambria County. In doing so, he will join the GOP ticket with state Sen. Scott Wagner, who won Tuesday’s GOP nomination for governor.

In running for a second term, Mr. Stack had fought against the lingering stain of allegations that surfaced last year that he and his wife Tonya had verbally abused staffers who worked at the taxpayer-funded residence, as well as the State Police detail assigned to protect them.

In an unusual step, Mr. Wolf had ordered Inspector General Bruce Beemer’s office to launch an investigation into the matter, and deliver a report on its findings. Amid the inquiry, Mr. Wolf took the unprecedented step of yanking Mr. Stack’s State Police protection and sharply scaled back staff at the lieutenant governor’s residence. Soon after, Tonya Stack began seeking in-patient treatment for a mental health issue, Stack’s office confirmed.

In the end, the governor decided to shield the Inspector General’s report from the public.

In campaigning for reelection, Mr. Stack avoided discussing the controversy surrounding his treatment of employees. Instead he touted his experience as an elected official, including his nearly four years as lieutenant governor and another 13 years as a state senator representing Northeast Philadelphia.

Mr. Stack had also attempted to showcase his office’s launch of the Pathway to Pardons program, which aims to help former offenders learn how to clear their criminal records and ease their path to employment; as well as his work to streamline the often long and complicated process of obtaining a pardon.

But nearly all of Mr. Stack’s opponents had run on a platform of making the office relevant again. The duties of the lieutenant governor include presiding over the state Senate (and casting the tie-breaking vote, if necessary) and chairing the Board of Pardons. The lieutenant governor also would take over running the state if the governor were to die in office, or as it happened in the case of former Republican Gov. Tom Ridge, leave for another position.

Mr. Stack’s opponents had said they wanted to expand on those duties, and work closely with the governor’s office to champion issues important to the administration.

Mr. Stack and Mr. Wolf’s icy relationship was one of the worst-kept secrets in the Capitol. The two rarely appeared at events together and never jointly pushed policy issues. During the primary, Mr. Wolf stayed neutral.

Despite reports of their estrangement, Mr. Stack’s campaign had said the lieutenant governor supported Mr. Wolf’s policies and reelection.

The two men will run as a ticket in the fall, although few expect they will campaign for reelection together, as many governor-lieutenant governor duos have in past years.

But a group of Republican state senators is seeking to change the way lieutenant governors run in primaries. They are pushing a measure that would allow gubernatorial candidates to choose their running mates. As it stands now, governors and lieutenant governors run separately in primary elections and only become a ticket in the general election.

The bill was spurred, in part, but the estranged relationship between Mr. Wolf and Mr. Stack.

Staff reporter Andrew Goldstein contributed.

Correction, posted May 16, 2018: In an earlier version of this story, Nina Ahmad’s name had the wrong courtesy title.

First Published: May 16, 2018, 2:32 a.m.

RELATED
PRIMARY RESULTS: Check out the full election tallies from Pa. Primary Day 2018
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PRIMARY RESULTS: Check out the full election tallies from Pa. Primary Day 2018
Democrat Sara Innamorato speaks with Ben Adams and his daughter Carina Adams, 6, outside of her polling place Tuesday, May, 15, 2018, in Lawrenceville.
Adam Smeltz
Challengers Sara Innamorato, Summer Lee defeat two Costa cousins for Democratic nods in state House races
Scott Wagner speaks to supporters after winning the Republican primary gubernatorial candidacy in York, Pa.Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
Angela Couloumbis and Liz Navratil
Scott Wagner sweeps Republican primary for governor
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
1
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
Prospect Rutger McGroarty is right on track according to Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza.
2
sports
From The Point: When are the kids getting called up? Jason Spezza details the Penguins’ ‘thought-out’ plan
A new report advises retirees in 2025 to aim for just 3.7% when withdrawing from savings -- down from 4%. Over a 30-year retirement, that could mean the difference between financial security or outliving your cash in your 80s or 90s, financial experts say.
3
business
How much can retirees safely withdraw from their nest eggs? Financial experts weigh in.
Pickers at Bonnie Brae Fruit Farms in Huntington Township, Adams County, harvest golden delicious apples on Sept. 10, 2024. President Donald Trump’s administration has frozen funding on several federal programs, including many that are under USDA and help farmers make their facilities more climate-friendly, protect against damage from wildlife, and help them employ more workers.
4
news
Pa. farmers feel funding pinch as federal freezes trigger labor and infrastructure instability
York County District Attorney Timothy J. Barker reacts during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
5
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
Mayor of Braddock John Fetterman  (Stephanie Strasburg / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Stephanie Strasburg / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story