Older Pittsburgh Voters Likely to Play Decisive Role in 2025 Mayoral Election

Pittsburgh voters 50 and older constitute a significant voting bloc that have the potential to decide the next city mayor. In the 2021 mayoral primary, voters 50 and older made up 57 percent of the voters, and they represented 60 percent of the voters in the general election.  According to this survey of Pittsburgh voters 50 and older, a large majority intend to once again participate in the upcoming primary election. Their priority issues that will influence who they vote for include economic stability, public safety, and access to essential services.

Many residents 50-plus are not confident that their current community will meet their needs as they grow older, and want the next mayor to address community issues such as neighborhood safety and improvements, accessible infrastructure, support services for aging adults (including elder abuse and fraud), and affordable housing.

Among other issues, Pittsburgh voters 50-plus are looking for the next mayor to address the following:

• 83 percent say the candidates’ positions on access to quality health care will affect their vote.
• 80 percent support a change in city ordinances to make it easier for owners to create accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property.
• 70 percent support inclusionary zoning.

The survey results show Democratic challenger Corey O’Connor leads incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey, 58 percent to 24 percent, with 16 percent undecided among voters 50-plus. Tony Moreno leads with voters 50 and older on the Republican side, with a 40 percent lead over challenger Thomas West.

Methodology

AARP commissioned American Directions Research Group to conduct a survey of 805 voters 50 and older living in Pittsburgh, PA.  The interviews were conducted March 12–19, 2025, by phone and online, with 650 live phone interviews (80.75 percent) and 155 (19.25 percent) from an opt-in panel sample list of registered voters age 50+ living in Pittsburgh. The data were weighted by age and gender to reflect registered voters in Pittsburgh age 50 or older, based on the population of registered voters 50-plus from the sample source.

For more information, please contact Kate Bridges at kbridges@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.