Pittsburgh mayoral election, 1933

November 6, 1933

Nominee William N. McNair John Herron Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 102,432 75,507 Percentage 57.6% 42.4%

The Mayoral election of 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1933. In a realigning election, Democrats regained control of the mayor's office for the first time in 28 years; they have not relinquished this position since. The incumbent mayor, John Herron of the Republican Party chose to run for his first full term. Herron had been elevated to the executive office from his position as city council president after Charles H. Kline resigned over a fiscal scandal; he inherited a party whose once efficient machinery was in crisis. Democrats, led by new powerful grassroots organizer David Lawrence (a future mayor) selected William McNair, an idealistic and outspoken attorney as their candidate. With the beginnings of the New Deal being set into place, Pittsburgh's strong labor community moved rapidly toward the Democrats, creating a huge shift in voting patterns and allowing McNair to win.

Primary elections

Incumbent mayor John Herron won a divided Republican Primary against Councilman Joseph A. McArdle and Register of Wills Joseph Mackrell.

William McNair won the Democratic Primary.

General election

A total of 177,939 votes were cast.

Pittsburgh mayoral election, 1933

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William McNair	102,432	57.6
	Republican	John Herron	75,507	42.4
Turnout			177,939
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

External links

• Newspaper description of election
• [1]

References

Preceded by 1929

Pittsburgh mayoral election 1933

Succeeded by 1937