Pittsburgh has elected its next mayor and its Democrat Corey O’Connor.
The Associated Press called the race for O’Connor just 26 minutes after the polls closed at 8 p.m.
With a little over 32 percent of the vote in, O’Connor has 92.2 percent of the vote to Republican Tony Moreno’s 8.5 percent.
Even thought he was running as a Republican, the retired police officer from Brighton Heights did not receive an endorsement from the GOP.
O’Connor defeated incumbent mayor Ed Gainey in the spring Democratic primary.
O’Connor is the son of the late Bob O’Connor, who died while in office due to complications from brain cancer in September 2006, just 9 months into his term.
O’Connor was elected the Allegheny County Controller in 2022 and before that was a City Council member for a decade.
The 41-year-old, who lives in Point Breeze with his wife and two children will be the 62nd mayor in the City of Pittsburgh.
An enthusiastic O’Connor was joined by his wife and two children and he told KDKA Radio there’s a lot of enthusiasm among voters who are eager for a change in leadership and a new vision for the city.
“I think that’s why a lot of people came to our campaign and supported those reasons and we’re excited about the opportunity to represent our city,” said O’Connor.
The mayor-elect adds there will be a lot of work to do when he takes office and wants to get an early start.
“We need public safety, we need a chief of police, we need an economic development team,” said O’Connor. “So, we want to make those announcements before January.”