PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — The Democratic machine is dead. Long live the new Democratic machine.
Two weeks ago, Allegheny County Democrats had their posterior handed to them in the May primary when three progressive Democrats, two with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and the other backed by George Soros, ran the tables in the races for Allegheny County executive, district attorney, and the at-large county council seat.
State Rep. Sara Innamorato won the top job in the county, criminal defense attorney Matt Dugan won the race for district attorney, and Bethany Hallam kept her an at-large county council seat. Both Innamorato and Hallam had ties to the DSA when it began its takeover of the Democratic Party in 2018, while Dugan was flush with nearly $800,000 from the Soros PAC.
The wins come after a slow but strategic takeover by the far Left of the party that began in 2017 with a local magisterial race, gained steam in 2018, and rattled the establishment in 2022 when John Fetterman crushed Conor Lamb in the U.S. Senate primary.
By the time Innamorato, Hallam, and Dugan swept the county's top jobs this month, the fate of the 100-year-old Democratic Party powerhouse had collapsed.
One Democrat, who has been part of trying to hold together the Democratic traditional party for the past few years, said the effort was like "trying to use masking tape to hold off a flood of molasses." "The question is none of these Democrat candidates are appealing to the average Democrat, so do they hold their nose and vote for someone who doesn’t share their values, assimilate into the Republican Party, or just stay home?” he asked.
The Republican Party in Allegheny County has a candidate for county executive, businessman Joe Rockey, who will be running against Innamorato. Rockey is centrist, not caught up in the culture wars, and said he is laser-focused on the economy and jobs.
When asked by KDKA news reporter Jon Delano about his thoughts on former President Donald Trump, Rockey didn’t hesitate to say Trump was too divisive and that he didn’t support him.
“I am running to focus on the economy and jobs economic growth and jobs,” he said.
G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Millersville University, said that while Allegheny County is solidly Democratic, the role of the county executive is that of someone who attracts businesses to the region and not someone who focuses on ideology.
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“For a Republican to be successful in that county, they have to separate themselves from candidates and positions like Rockey did,” he said. “That is the only way he could be politically viable. Is it a game-winner? I am not sure, but there is no doubt about it, it's smart politics to run as a good manager and not an ideologue,” Madonna said.
The matchup between Innamorato and Rockey will play out this fall — local Democrats not part of the new Left said there are already plans for civic and business leaders to back Rockey. If he is successful in running as a pragmatist, it may serve as a map for coalition building for the GOP that has been eroding in this county for over 20 years.