With Donald Trump poised to return to the White House next week and a change in local leadership underway, local Republican leaders hope to bring new energy to contests like Pittsburgh’s mayoral race — where at least three GOP candidates may be in contention.
Sam DeMarco, who has led the Republican Committee of Allegheny County since 2019, has stepped down to become Southwestern Pennsylvania regional director for newly elected U.S. Sen. David McCormick.
In a letter to party members last weekend, DeMarco said that on his watch the GOP had success recruiting candidates, registering voters, and raising money. He noted that last fall Allegheny County “delivered more votes for President Trump [and other Republicans in statewide races] than any other county" in the state.
Republicans hope that's just the beginning. This week, the party's committee in Pittsburgh pledged that it would field contenders for every city elected office on the ballot this year — including mayor.
“They all have a path to victory,” said Todd McCollum, who chairs the GOP's city committee. For voters who are fed up with Democratic candidates but feel they have to vote in the Democratic Party to have a say, he said, “We are putting our own people up and there is no need to switch, even if you think that a Republican has no chance.”
McCollum would not identify the candidates except to say they include “names that are both familiar and unfamiliar to anybody who keeps up with the news.” At least three candidates are believed to be pondering a mayoral run, though none would confirm their intention this week.
One is Tony Moreno, a retired city of Pittsburgh police officer who ran a pugnacious campaign against incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey as a Democrat and, later, a Republican in 2021. Another potential contender is Richard Cupka, a longtime vocal critic of the city’s political establishment and owner of Cupka’s Cafe on the South Side. A third possible entrant is Lawrenceville business owner Thomas West.
“Since the election ended last year, we started right away looking for people who were ready to run for mayor,” McCollum said. And while most of the attention this spring will be on Gainey’s Democratic primary fight with County Controller Corey O’Connor, McCollum said the two were “cut from a very similar cloth. And I think people are just tired of the same old thing.”
Republicans also plan to contend for the four City Council seats on the ballot this year. One has already declared her interest: Erin Koper first broached her plan to run for the District 2 seat to WESA last month. Republicans say they will also vie for the seats of Anthony Coghill in District 4, Daniel Lavelle in District 6, and Erika Strassburger in District 8.
Winning such races will be an uphill climb, but Republicans say taking the fight to Democrats is crucial for the party to grow. And at least two men running to replace DeMarco as head of the party say they can do just that.
Attorney Jason Richey announced Wednesday he will seek to replace DeMarco. Richey unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2021 but withdrew before the primary.
Richey praised DeMarco for his party-building work: raising money, recruiting volunteers and candidates, and boosting voter turnout.
“When Sam took over the party six years ago or so, one could argue the Republican Party was almost irrelevant in our county,” Richey said. He said DeMarco had built a strong foundation upon which the party can build and grow.
“I want to develop a Republican Party that competes on every street, every block and every area of Allegheny County,” he said, by knocking on more doors and publicizing Republican policy wins.
Democrats “dominate, to some extent, Allegheny County politics,” Richey said. “And so I think that it is time that Republicans step up and we put together great candidates, that we register more Republican voters and bring our economic policy ideas to Allegheny County to help it grow and thrive.”
Richey has drawn a challenger in Doug Austin, an attorney who chairs the GOP’s committee in Richland Township. Austin has sought the seat before, challenging DeMarco at a time when some conservative activists thought DeMarco wasn’t doing enough to fight voter fraud.
Austin is somewhat less generous than Richey in his assessment of DeMarco’s tenure: “We're riding a great high as a result of electing President Trump, and that's great but if you go down the ballot, we're not doing so well,” he said. “We’ve left many offices [unchallenged] and so Democrats have been able to walk right in.”
With over 274,000 registered Republicans, Allegheny County boasts the most GOP voters in the state. But they are outnumbered nearly two to one by the county's more than 526,000 Democrats, and while the GOP has closed that gap in recent months, the party has struggled in downballot contests. (DeMarco’s departure from his spot on Allegheny County Council, for example, leaves just one Republican on the 15-member body until he is replaced.)
Austin ran as an insurgent in his 2022 challenge, but he says he would bring an experienced hand to the job. “I’ve been the [Richland] chair since 2015, and if you’re going to be in charge of the county committee, it’s a good idea for you to have been on the local committee,” he said.
Still, Austin said the contest has been friendly so far, and others may jump in. the choice will be made next month by party committeepeople, who represent each voting district in the county, a candidate must get petitions signed by 50 committee members.
“We’re very fortunate to have this opportunity,” Austin said. “We are opening up a whole new era in our party.”
Chris Potter contributed to this story.
