If you want to know how political power is ebbing and flowing in Pennsylvania, take a look at Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Pennsylvania’s politics swing like the clapper of a bell. It can be Democratic one year and Republican another. The 67 counties run the gamut of deepest blue to brightest red. That’s how the same state that voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted for Donald Trump twice.
Some things have been been set in stone. Allegheny County is built on a bedrock of Democratic voters.
Others have been a steady migration. Westmoreland County has moved from dominantly Democratic to more purple, sometimes leaning toward its urban neighbors in Pittsburgh and sometimes hewing more toward its rural roots.
Both are experiencing shake-ups.
Westmoreland County’s row offices are now all Republican. There is one Democratic county commissioner, but Ted Kopas holds that seat because it’s required. Two seats go to the party that gets the most votes and one to the minority.
The last other Democrat elected in county government was Sheriff James Albert, who won running against Jonathan Held, a Republican incumbent mired in legal problems. Albert switched parties in 2020 and was reelected as a Republican in 2023.
But for the 2025 elections, it is easy to predict a Republican sweep because no Democrats are running. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, Clerk of Courts Megan Loughner and Prothonotary Gina O’Barto will walk to an easy win. Newly appointed Register of Wills Jon Wian and Coroner Tim Carson will have to fight for their seats, but so far, that will just be on the primary ticket against other Republicans.
Meanwhile, Democratic bastions Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh have a number of Republicans vying for high-profile seats.
Not only will Mayor Ed Gainey face Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor in the Democratic primary, but the winner will go on to a rare Republican challenge in the fall.
Of four city council seats up for reelection, only one incumbent, Erika Strassburger of District 8, faces no challenge in either race. Theresa Kail-Smith is retiring from District 2, but three Democrats will duke it out to replace her and then go on to a final battle with the one Republican who has stepped up. Anthony Coghill, District 4, has Democratic opposition. He and R. Daniel Lavelle, District 6, also have Republicans running for their seats.
Of six Allegheny County Council seats, only one — Bobby Palmosina, District 12 — has no challengers.
It speaks of a tidal shift. Republicans are more energized. Democrats are willing to fight each other more than the GOP. And some Democrats who want to serve are finding it more expedient to change parties than swim against the current.
The one thing you can guarantee is that nothing about Pennsylvania politics is permanent. If it was, it wouldn’t be a swing state.