PITTSBURGH — Racial politics can play havoc even within the progressive movement.
When Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey posted on X a photo of him, along with Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, endorsing Ashley Comans for the state House over state Rep. Abigail Salisbury, texts started flying from local Democrats about the endorsement.
Salisbury is well respected by her Western Pennsylvania Democratic peers, an involved member of the community, and has been a “good government” progressive since taking office last year. Bisexual and Jewish, Salisbury is in no way, shape, or form considered a “moderate.”
The first question among local Democrats was why Gainey and Innamorato were flexing their left-wing muscles against a sitting progressive legislator. Locals understood why Lee was doing it: Comans is a Wilkinsburg school board director, a social justice activist, and Lee’s friend.
The second question was why they were using code words to imply it wasn’t enough that she was a progressive and holding this seat but that she also needed to be either brown or black.
Gainey began his X post with this: “While no single election can change or alter our long history of structural racism and inequality, the upcoming primary election is an important step in continuing to build an economy that works for all families.”
He added, “But right now, too many Black, brown and low income neighborhoods are denied resources and the safe environment and educational opportunities kids need to thrive.”
That is why Gainey said he was endorsing Comans.
Many local Democrats bristled at Gainey’s insinuation that Salisbury was ignoring black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods.
Innamorato — who, because of her far-left politics, barely won her seat in November in the heavily Democratic-registered Allegheny County that no Republican has won for over 20 years — issued a statement hailing Comans’s race as the next step in remaking Pittsburgh politics.
Salisbury defeated Comans last year to fill Lee’s 34th District House seat that Lee vacated when she won the 12th Congressional District House seat in 2022.
Local Democrats were stunned that Gainey — who won with the heavy financial backing of the social justice union SEIU in a low turnout primary in 2021 — and Innamorato would use their positions of power and decide to fracture their party in a year that Democrats need to be united in one of the most important states in both the presidential race and a U.S. Senate race.
In short, all politics is local and Democrats need the local party to remain cohesive.
Local incumbent Democratic House members voiced their displeasure to WESA reporter Chris Potter, with state Rep. Emily Kinkead saying, “I’m just disappointed that they would weigh in against an incumbent that hasn’t done anything to warrant not winning her seat.”
State Rep. Dan Frankel told WESA “there is some consternation” about the move. “From my perspective, [Salisbury] has worked very diligently and her policy positions are consistent with where our delegation is.”
State Rep. Nick Pisciottano, who chairs Allegheny County’s legislative delegation, said in a blunt statement they stand strongly behind Salisbury for reelection.
Last Sunday Comans failed in her bid to win the endorsement of the powerful 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club when she stumbled to articulate an answer when asked what vote Salisbury took that she would have never taken.
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Local progressives believe Salisbury will still win the seat in next month’s primary election. After all, she has the diverse backing of both progressives and moderate organizations such as the labor unions and progressive clubs.
Long term, though, after a decade of left-wing power insurgencies within their party ranks, has the bloom faded, or have Gainey and Innamorato flexed too far and created a deeper wedge within their party?