COREY O’CONNOR | PHOTO BY KALLIYAN WINDER/NEXT GENERATION NEWSROOM

After a highly contested campaign, Corey O’Connor, the son of a former Pittsburgh mayor, defeated Mayor Ed Gainey in the May 20 Democratic primary, according to unofficial results. Tony Moreno, a retired Pittsburgh police officer, snagged the Republican mayoral nomination from Thomas West.

Here are 5 things to know:

• O’Connor’s unofficial primary win is the second time in two consecutive elections that an incumbent has lost in almost 100 years. Mayor Bill Peduto was ousted by Gainey in the 2021 Democratic primary in his bid for a third term. Gainey became the city’s first Black mayor.
• Only 25% of registered voters cast ballots in Allegheny County. The general election is on Nov. 4.
• Republicans dominated the Pittsburgh mayor’s office from 1896 to 1934. Since then, all have been Democrats; one — Richard Caliguiri — ran as an independent in 1977 then as a Democrat for his second term. With the city’s strong Democratic edge in registrations, it’s likely a Democratic mayor will be elected again in November.
• O’Connor’s father, Bob O’Connor, served one of the shortest Pittsburgh mayoral terms — just eight months, from Jan. 3-Sept. 1, 2006. He died in office of a brain tumor, paving the way for City Council President Luke Ravenstahl, at age 26, to be appointed as the youngest mayor among the top U.S. cities at the time.
• O’Connor, 40, the current Allegheny County controller and former city councilman, lives in Point Breeze with his wife, Katie, and two small children. The family also has two dogs, Tippy and Nova.