Stephen Zappala wins Allegheny County district attorney race
Stephen J. Zappala Jr. will continue his quarter-century tenure as Allegheny County’s top prosecutor after surviving a well-financed challenge in a race that forced the lifelong Democrat to run as a Republican.
Zappala reversed the results of the Democratic primary, won by Matt Dugan, a former public defender. The incumbent stayed politically alive by winning the Republican nomination as a write-in.
“First and foremost, I want to thank the voters of Allegheny County,” Zappala told supporters at his campaign’s watch party. “I think it was more a referendum of us as a community.”
“We were up against a billionaire,” he continued, in reference to George Soros, the liberal philanthropist who largely funded his campaign rival. “We had to be competitive, not just financially
Michael Stanton, business manager and apprenticeship coordinator for Boilermakers Local 154, attended the Zappala campaign’s watch party at Cupka’s Cafe II in the South Side. He said he’s concerned about public safety and likes Zappala’s messaging — the incumbent is “going to clean up the city,” he said.
Corinn Lyon, 77, of Sheraden, said crime in the county also motivated her to vote — but it prompted her to vote against the DA candidate who positioned himself as tough on crime.
attorney Stephen Zappala at his election night watch party Nov. 7, 2023. (Photos via Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University)” class=”wp-image-1299056″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?w=2048&quality=100&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=400%2C265&quality=100&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&quality=100&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=768%2C509&quality=100&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C1017&quality=100&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C795&quality=100&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?resize=1568%2C1038&quality=100&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ZappalaWatchParty3-1.jpg?w=370&quality=100&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″/>Incumbent District attorney Stephen Zappala at his election night watch party Nov. 7, 2023. (Photos via Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University)
The retired US Airways worker and registered independent voted for Dugan because we need “new blood” in the district attorney’s office.
“[Zappala’s] been in there too long and I just don’t think he’s done enough,” she said.
That thinking, though, did not prevail at the polls.
Political signs stand outside the polling location at the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Fox Chapel. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Zappala became DA in 1998 after the judges of the county’s Common Pleas court elected him to fill a vacancy, and voters granted him a full term in the 1999 election. Then it was smooth political sailing for Zappala, who didn’t face a serious challenge until 2019, when he turned aside independent challenger Lisa Middleman with 57% of the vote.
“Unlike the primary, I think you’re going to hear from the entire public,” Zappala said at the polls.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said of his quarter-century tenure in the office. “It’s long hours, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. It’s an honor.”
The incumbent continued: “This time we didn’t get snuck up on. We weren’t outspent 4-1. We stayed with them the whole way, and I think this time you’re going to see a different result.”
Dugan earned the backing of local progressives who wanted to see Zappala’s career over, and perhaps more importantly, he earned the backing of progressive megadonor George Soros. Soros, who has funded numerous DA candidates throughout the country, bolstered Dugan with $700,000 worth of TV ads during the primary season and more than $1 million ahead of the General Election. Zappala raised considerable sums himself, including more than $600,000 ahead of his November rematch with Dugan, but it didn’t stack up with Soros’ support for Dugan.
attorney, holds a press conference on public safety from Market Square on Friday, Sept. 21, 2023, in downtown Pittsburgh.. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)” class=”wp-image-1298726″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&quality=100&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=400%2C267&quality=100&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=768%2C512&quality=100&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&quality=100&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=100&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&quality=100&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3.jpg?w=1800&quality=100&ssl=1 1800w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20230921MattDugan02-3-1024×683.jpg?w=370&quality=100&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″/>Matt Dugan, Democratic candidate for Allegheny County District attorney, holds a press conference on public safety from Market Square on Friday, Sept. 21, 2023, in downtown Pittsburgh.. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Dugan said his campaign “worked as hard as we could work. When we got into this race, we were going to control as much as we could control. … I really feel like we left it all on the field.
“We have an opportunity to do something very very bold here today, to build a criminal justice system that can move the system toward more just outcomes and safer communities,” he continued.
Zappala accepted the Republican nomination after Dugan defeated him in the Democratic primary, thanks to several thousand Republican write-in votes. He also accepted the endorsement of the Forward Party, the centrist-focused national political group fronted by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
attorney-allegheny-county-election-stephen-zappala-matt-dugan%2F;mt=1699416719981765;hc=37d4041ef5324cd4e34a644e971baa0bf3283871″ width=”1″ height=”1″/>
attorney of Allegheny County, greets those outside his polling location at the Cooper-Siegel Community Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Fox Chapel. The longtime incumbent DA was challenged by attorney Matt Dugan. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)” class=”wp-image-1298998″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&quality=100&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=400%2C266&quality=100&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=768%2C511&quality=100&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=1536%2C1022&quality=100&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=1200%2C799&quality=100&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?resize=1568%2C1044&quality=100&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09.jpg?w=1800&quality=100&ssl=1 1800w, https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231107ElectionDay09-1024×682.jpg?w=370&quality=100&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″/>Stephen Zappala, the District attorney of Allegheny County, greets those outside his polling location at the Cooper-Siegel Community Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Fox Chapel. The longtime incumbent DA was challenged by attorney Matt Dugan. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
The two candidates clashed in a heated campaign season this fall. Dugan assailed Zappala for being too tough on nonviolent offenders and Black defendants. Zappala said Dugan would likely be too lenient toward criminals as DA, and said he would be too beholden to Soros.
Zappala is new to the GOP side of the ballot, and referred to himself in a debate as a “law and order Democrat,” but he has pulled support from traditional Republican donors and politicians. And while the ink is still drying on his party switch, he is the first Republican elected to countywide office (other than a county council at-large seat which is virtually guaranteed to the party) since 1999, when Jim Roddey was elected county executive.
Zappala campaign spokesperson Ben Wren said that voters in the county are deciding how far they’re willing to be pushed to the left. He said that Democrats are getting increasingly liberal and added that there is division in the county between what he referred to as city Democrats and Mon Valley Democrats.
Dugan, a Moon Township resident, worked in the public defender’s office from 2007 until this year, and served as chief public defender since 2020.
Venuri Siriwardane is PublicSource’s health and mental health reporter. She can be reached at venuri@publicsource.org.
Emma Folts covers higher education at PublicSource, in partnership with Open Campus. She can be reached at emma@publicsource.org.
Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
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