5-way race in 12th Congressional District remains too close to call

Ryan Deto | Tuesday, May 17, 2022 9:52 p.m.

Courtesy of the campaigns

Democratic candidates running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 12th District include, from left, Summer Lee, Steve Irwin, Jerry Dickinson, Jeff Woodard and William Parker.

A five-way race for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District remained too close to call as of midnight Tuesday, with state Rep. Summer Lee leading Pittsburgh attorney Steve Irwin by just more than 500 votes.

Irwin had jumped out to sizable early lead, collecting about half of the votes counted as of 10 p.m., but Lee soon erased that lead.

As of midnight, with more than 96% of precincts reporting unofficial results in both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, Lee had collected 41.5% of the votes counted compared with Irwin’s 41.1% — a difference of 523 votes.

University of Pittsburgh law professor Jerry Dickinson found himself in a distant third place with 10.8% of the votes counted, followed by nonprofit head Jeff Woodard with 4.7% and entrepreneur William Parker with 1.4%, the Department of State tallies showed.

At an election watch party in Downtown Pittsburgh, Lee praised her campaign and volunteers for keeping the race close in a contest dominated by millions of dollars in outside spending, mostly attacking Lee.

Referencing the ads to the crowd of about 100 people, Lee said, “$3 million they threw at us, and we are gonna count the last vote.”

In a statement issued just after midnight, Irwin’s campaign said, “We’re thankful for the tens of thousands of Western Pennsylvania voters who put their trust in Steve Irwin. We are aware that there are still precincts with votes that have not been counted and we will wait until all the votes are counted. But we are moving forward with full confidence.”

The 12th district includes Pittsburgh and suburban Allegheny County communities, as well as Westmoreland County communities such as Murrysville, North Huntingdon, Penn Township, Sewickley Township and parts of Hempfield. It is considered a solid Democratic district, and whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored to win in the general election and replace longtime U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, who said last year he wouldn’t seek reelection.

Coincidentally, the lone Republican candidate also is named Mike Doyle. He’s president of Plum Council.

The 12th District contest is largely seen as a contest between the progressive and mainstream wings of the Democratic Party.

Lee, a progressive firebrand, was the early front-runner in the race, with polling giving her a significant advantage. She racked up support from local progressives like Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, but also from national figures like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The race appeared to tighten a bit after attack ads against Lee flooded the Pittsburgh market, mostly funded with millions of dollars from a pro-Israel Super PAC. Those ads also boosted Irwin, who had also garnered the support of establishment Democratic officials like Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and the outgoing Doyle.