Incumbent Edward Gainey (D) and Corey O’Connor (D) are running in the Democratic primary for mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 20, 2025. A Democrat has held the mayor’s office since 1934.

PennLive‘s J.D. Prose wrote, “With Pittsburgh remaining a solidly blue enclave in purple Allegheny County, the party’s primary race winner will be considered the de facto next mayor although there are two GOP mayoral candidates.”

Gainey was first elected in 2021. He is focusing on his record in office and his campaign website said, “Homicides are down, the state of our infrastructure has improved, affordable housing options are growing, and basic services are faster — I’m proud of my record as Mayor, and excited about what we can still achieve, together.” Gainey is also campaigning to make housing more affordable, saying, “I want to build a city where everybody has an opportunity to live. To me, housing is a right. Housing is a right that everybody should have.” U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and the United Steelworkers have endorsed Gainey.

O’Connor is the controller of Allegheny County. He is campaigning to build more housing and develop businesses and said, “We must create new affordable and workforce housing opportunities, and eliminate obstacles to housing construction. We must provide space for new businesses and entrepreneurs to choose Pittsburgh.” He is also campaigning on public safety and says he wants to fund centers to “provide crisis support, homelessness resources, and emergency aid, giving first responders more tools to help residents quickly and effectively.” The Allegheny County Democratic Committee and Pennsylvania’s Laborers’ Council have endorsed O’Connor. The Democratic committee previously endorsed Gainey over incumbent Bill Peduto (D) in 2021.

WESA‘s Chris Potter discussed the national implications of the race and wrote, “What happens outside of Pittsburgh no longer stays outside of Pittsburgh.” Gainey has criticized O’Connor for receiving $130,000 in donations from donors who previously supported Republican candidates. Gainey said, “There’s one place I didn’t expect to have to fend the MAGA assault, and that was the mayoral primary race… Trump’s MAGA megadonors, his consultants and corporate interests, are trying to buy the mayor’s office.” O’Connor says he has received donations from “people who want to donate because they see how much Pittsburgh is struggling,” and also criticized Gainey previously supporting Pittsburgh’s bid to host the Republican National Convention in Pittsburgh, saying “So, I ask, who’s progressive? Somebody who wants to stop Donald Trump or somebody who was willing to welcome Donald Trump and the Trump Republicans to Pittsburgh for their national convention?”

Pittsburgh is one of the 47 top 100 U.S. cities to use a strong mayor system of governance, meaning the mayor drafts budgets, sets policies, and can veto bills by the city council. To read more about the power mayors have in the top 100 cities in the country, click here.

Pittsburgh does not have term limits for the position of mayor. Mayors serve a four-year term.