Allegheny County Sheriff Deputy Kevin Kraus appeared to have won his primary, beating out fellow hopeful Dom Costa for county sheriff. Early Wednesday morning, Kraus was leading by nearly 3,700 votes, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. The two Democrats were vying to replace retiring Sheriff William Mullen, who has served in the office since 2007.
Kraus joined a crowd of supporters in Ross Township Tuesday evening, but left the event early. A campaign staffer said Kraus was anxiously awaiting the final vote count after periods where the two candidates were separated by 2,000 votes.
He served as a Pittsburgh police officer for decades before moving to the sheriff’s office, where he was later appointed chief deputy in 2014. Dom Costa was a police officer in East McKeesport before joining the Pittsburgh police bureau. He later became a Pittsburgh police commander and, in 2006, the city’s chief of police.
Costa later served five terms as the state Representative in the 21st District, where he was known as a supporter of organized labor but as a conservative on abortion and social issues. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by progressive Sara Innamorato in 2018.
The Allegheny County sheriff’s office handles a number of responsibilities for the county, including transporting prisoners, tracking down fugitives, serving court papers and warrants, providing security in courtrooms and issuing firearms licenses.
Tony Griffith, who worked on Kraus' campaign, said Kraus' top priority is equity. "I think [Kraus] holds that in the highest regard. To make sure that each and every person is treated fairly by the justice system."
Griffith said he's cautiously optimistic that Kraus will win again in the fall.
While there were no Republican candidates for sheriff on the ballot, there were 7,941 write-ins from GOP voters.
In Allegheny County Council’s District 9, the only contested election for County Council, Democratic incumbent Bob Macey beat out Steel Valley Middle School teacher Steven Singer.
Singer argued that county council should play a more assertive role in expanding services for residents, while Macey said that his policy stances better reflect the politics of his district.
The district includes the Mon Valley communities of Dravosburg, Duquesne, Elizabeth, Forward, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln, McKeesport, North Versailles, Port Vue, South Versailles, Versailles, West Mifflin, and White Oak.
