A day after losing the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 45th state House District to political newcomer Brittany Bloam, Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena said he does not believe a controversial campaign mailer targeting transgender athletes cost him the race.
Bloam, a Robinson land use and zoning attorney, defeated Catena to advance to the November general election. She will run against Republican James Julius, an artificial intelligence company founder from Robinson, to replace retiring state Rep. Anita Astorino Kulik, D-Kennedy.
“The mail-in results were already in when that surfaced,” Catena told TribLive on Wednesday, referring to backlash over a campaign mailer that accused Bloam of being “supported by an extreme left group that advocates for transgender athletes in our sports.”
The mailer drew sharp criticism in the campaign’s final days, prompting some Allegheny County Council members to call for Catena to resign as council president and suspend his state House bid.
With all but one of the House district’s precincts reporting unofficial results as of Wednesday, Bloam had collected 63% of the votes tallied, compared with Catena’s 36.7%.
Catena, of Carnegie, made an early exit from his election night watch party Tuesday night at Mama Lena’s Firehouse Grille in Kennedy, leaving supporters behind as he trailed Bloam in the race for the Democratic nomination.
“I spent a lot of time away from my family and my son. I’m going to try and go home and finish watching the rest of the results with him,” Catena told the small crowd gathered at the restaurant.
Catena conceded the race shortly before 10 p.m. after returning home.
The ‘misstep’
Mike Mikus, a political consultant who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns, said he believed Catena was likely to lose regardless — but he called the mailer one of the worst “unforced errors” of the campaign.
“I would guess in this district a lot of Democrats are split on trans participation in sports,” Mikus said. “When you go after kids, even on a complex issue as this, it comes across as bullying.”
The mailer was sent out by the Friends of Pat Catena campaign, which had raised $74,000 from January to March, with $25,000 coming from Catena’s personal funds, according to state financial records.
Despite running to be the Democratic nominee, Catena said the mailer was intended to appeal to more conservative voters. The strategy was derived from Kulik, who has a reputation for being a conservative Democrat due to her opposition to abortion.
“She’s one of the most conservative members of the state House,” Catena said.
While Mikus said the strategy showed a lack of understanding of the Democratic electorate and alienated some voters, it appeared to resonate with others at Catena’s election night gathering.
Registered Republican Tom Patterson, 70, of Collier, attended Catena’s campaign party. Despite being a Republican, Patterson said he supported Catena and, if Catena had been elected, planned to vote for him in the general election over Julius.
Patterson said Catena’s experience on county council gave him the opportunity to “see the ways things have turned” politically. He said he thinks Catena would have reined things in from moving too far in one direction.
Patterson’s wife, Peggy, 68, said she supported Catena’s stance on transgender athletes competing in sports.
“It’s frightening that they’re attacking him,” she said.
Catena said the campaign’s “misstep” was failing to account for the decade that had passed since Kulik last faced a primary opponent.
“The best approach is not to attack but to make a clear statement of values,” Mikus said. “(The mailer) felt to a lot of voters like Pat Catena was boldly proclaiming his distaste in trans athletes.”
A future unknown
On Wednesday, Catena said he was uncertain what his political future would look like following the loss.
“Yes, it was wrong, but I am being persecuted for something outside of council,” Catena said.
Seven council members — Jordan Botta of District 13, Dan Grzybek of District 5, Paul Klein of District 11, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling of District 1, Lissa Geiger Shulman of District 3 and at-large members Bethany Hallam and Alex Rose — called for Catena to step down in a May 13 letter.
Catena said Wednesday that he did not plan to step down as president.
On Tuesday, council members are expected to vote whether to vacate the chair and choose a new president at the council’s next meeting.
The full council consists of 15 members. An official action to “vacate the chair” for new leadership requires support from a simple majority of seated members.
“Attacks on marginalized groups of people in service of one’s own political advancement are not acceptable,” the letter said. “We cannot entrust the powers that come with council leadership to someone who knowingly caused harm and refuses to address the impact of his actions.”
TribLive put phone calls out to several county council members Wednesday, but did not receive calls back.
Mikus said that the mailer will likely follow Catena for as long as he remains a public face and pursues a political career.