Municipal elections in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2025)
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← 2023
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| 2025 Allegheny County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: January 6, 2025 (judges) March 11, 2025 (partisan) August 1, 2025 (independent) |
| Primary election: May 20, 2025 General election: November 4, 2025 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Sheriff, county council, county council at-large (special), county council District 13 (special), and court of common pleas judges |
| Total seats up: 24 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2025 |
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, held general elections for sheriff, six county council seats, court of common pleas judges, a special election for an at-large county council seat, and a special election for the county council District 13 seat on November 4, 2025.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
Eight seats on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas were up for partisan election, while seven judges were up for retention election. Pennsylvania was one of seven states that used partisan elections to initially select judges and then used retention elections to determine whether judges should remain on the bench. Judges served 10-year terms before facing a retention election on the court of common pleas.
This election, like the one in 2021, was set against the backdrop of a power struggle between the Democratic Party and left-leaning organizations. Bolts' Alex Burness wrote, "Prior to 2021 ... Court of Common Pleas elections were dominated by endorsements of the Democratic Party, with judges vying for the backing of the local political establishment and law enforcement leaders. ... There are more players in town these days, with left-leaning groups like the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter and the Working Families Party gaining influence in and around Pittsburgh over the last decade."[1]
Heading into the general election, five of the 13 partisan candidates were listed as Democrats on the ballot: Heather Schmidt Bresnahan, Quita Bridges, Amanda Green-Hawkins, Jaime Hickton, and Matthew Rudzki. Five candidates were listed as Republicans: Alyssa Cowan, Jackie Obara, Michele Santicola, Sarra Terry, and Bryan Neft. And three candidates, Julie Capone, Dan Miller, and Anthony DeLuca, were cross-filed and were listed as belonging to both parties. According to Trib Live, however, "all 13 candidates are registered Democrats."[2]
Though Pennsylvania held partisan elections, candidates were allowed to cross-file with the major political parties. During the May 20, 2025, primary election, six candidates—Capone, Cowan, Miller, Obara, Santicola, and Terry—appeared on both the Democratic and Republican ballots via cross-filing, while four candidates—DeLuca, Neft, Dennis Very, and Ilan Zur—appeared on both ballots because they filed for the Democratic primary but were also written in as Republicans.
Candidates chose to cross-file in these primaries because judges are meant to be impartial and to increase their chances of gaining access to the general election ballot.[2][3]
Though all 13 general election candidates were technically Democrats, progressive groups endorsed a slate of only eight candidates in the primary, of which five advanced to the general election. According to 90.5 WESA, progressive groups such as the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, Pittsburgh’s Alliance for Police Accountability, Unite PAC, Pennsylvania United, Straight Ahead, One Pennsylvania, and 1 Hood Power endorsed what they called the "slate of eight." These candidates—Bridges, Cowan, Lauren Leiggi, Miller, Rudzki, Craig Stephens, Green-Hawkins, and Amy Mathieu—were endorsed because of their "community involvement and past experience using restorative and transformative justice, such as mediation and pro-bono work and victim advocacy, support and outreach."[4] Bridges, Cowan, Green-Hawkins, Miller, and Rudzki advanced to the general election.
A similar progressive coalition endorsed a slate of eight in 2021, with five of eight being elected to the court.[1]
Jaime Hickton (D), Alyssa Cowan (R), and Michele Santicola (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Click on a candidate's name to view that candidate's responses.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
Sheriff
General election
General election for Allegheny County Sheriff
Incumbent Kevin Kraus defeated Brian Weismantle in the general election for Allegheny County Sheriff on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kevin Kraus (D) | 72.1 | 280,025 | |
| Brian Weismantle (R) | 27.9 | 108,138 | ||
| Total votes: 388,163 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Allegheny County Sheriff
Incumbent Kevin Kraus advanced from the Democratic primary for Allegheny County Sheriff on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kevin Kraus | 99.0 | 138,632 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 1,452 | ||
| Total votes: 140,084 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Allegheny County Sheriff
Brian Weismantle advanced from the Republican primary for Allegheny County Sheriff on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brian Weismantle | 96.9 | 40,224 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.1 | 1,279 | ||
| Total votes: 41,503 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
County council
General election
Allegheny County Council general, 2025 |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| At-large |
Mike Embrescia (i) |
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| District 1 |
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| District 3 |
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| District 4 |
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| District 8 |
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| District 9 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 13 |
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Primary
Allegheny County Council primary, 2025 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| At-large |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
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| District 1 |
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| District 3 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 4 |
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| District 8 |
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| District 9 |
Did not make the ballot: |
No candidates filed for the Republican primary |
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| District 12 |
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No candidates filed for the Republican primary |
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Judicial offices
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
General election
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas general, 2025 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (8 seats) |
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Primary election
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas primaries, 2025 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (8 seats) |
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Retention election
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas retention elections, 2025 | |
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| Office | Candidates |
| Alan David Hertzberg's seat |
 Alan David Hertzberg (i) |
| Beth A. Lazzara's seat |
Beth A. Lazzara (i) |
| Dan Regan's seat |
Dan Regan (i) |
| Dwayne D. Woodruff's seat |
Dwayne D. Woodruff (i) |
| Edward J. Borkowski's seat |
Edward J. Borkowski (i) |
| Hugh F. McGough's seat |
Hugh F. McGough (i) |
| Jennifer Staley McCrady's seat |
Jennifer Staley McCrady (i) |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2025
March 25, 2025
May 20, 2025
- Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2025
- City elections in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2025)
- Mayoral election in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2025)
- Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pennsylvania, elections (2025)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Divert Funds from Governments Engaged in Genocide and Apartheid Charter Amendment (May 2025)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Question 1, Non-Discrimination in City Business and Foreign State Affiliations Amendment (May 2025)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Question 2, Public Ownership of Water and Sewer Systems Charter Amendment (May 2025)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Question 3, Prohibit Use of Home Rule Charter Process to Add Duties Beyond Lawful Scope of City Amendment (May 2025)
November 4, 2025
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About the county
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania | ||
|---|---|---|
| Allegheny County | Pennsylvania | |
| Population | 1,250,578 | 13,002,700 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 729 | 44,741 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 79% | 79.4% |
| Black/African American | 13% | 11.1% |
| Asian | 3.9% | 3.5% |
| Native American | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 0.8% | 2.4% |
| Multiple | 3.1% | 3.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 2.2% | 7.6% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 94.8% | 91% |
| College graduation rate | 42.5% | 32.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $62,320 | $63,627 |
| Persons below poverty level | 11.3% | 12% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Allegheny County, Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bolts, "Why Pittsburgh Progressives Are Targeting Judge Elections This Year," May 13, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Trib Live, "Why are Democratic candidates for Allegheny County judge listed as Republican nominees on the ballot?" October 17, 2025
- ↑ Spotlight PA, "Party affiliation can be misleading in local Pa. elections. Here’s why." May 3, 2023
- ↑ 90.5 WESA, "Progressive groups endorse new ‘slate of eight’ for Allegheny County Common Pleas Court," April 3, 2025
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