Two Democratic primary upsets proved Erie County is “ready for something different,” as Christina Vogel, one of those unlikely winners, put it. Vogel, an outsider businesswoman, defeated the establishment pick in one of the two marquee races on the May 20 primary ballot for Erie County residents.
Vogel, a local businesswoman who owns two Donatos Pizza locations, was outraised by nearly $80,000 in the Democratic primary for Erie County Executive. Despite the fundraising deficit, Vogel defeated Erie County Gaming Authority chair Perry Wood, the favorite of local Democrats, by about 1,200 votes.
“I never wanted to be a politician,” Vogel told the Erie Times-News. “But I believe in Erie County, and I think that we need a change in the county executive’s office,” she added. Vogel will now face Republican County executive Brenton Davis in the fall.
Davis is seeking a second term after winning an open-seat race for county executive in 2021. The general election in the critical swing county – Donald Trump carried Erie County by fewer than 2,000 votes in 2024 – is expected to be highly competitive.
In the race for Mayor of Erie, 2-term incumbent Joe Schember narrowly lost renomination by a 423-vote margin to Daria Devlin. Devlin, the director of social impact for the nonprofit Hamot Health Foundation, earned 5,117 votes (50%) to Schember’s 4,694 votes (46%) with the remaining 3.2% going to retired teacher Sheila Woeger.
Tuesday’s primary proved to be a rough night for the mayors of Pennsylvania’s two largest cities. Along with Schember, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey was defeated for renomination by Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor.
Despite Schember’s lowkey tenure, Devlin was able to raise $217,000, a sizable sum for Erie municipal politics, and ran on the issues of fiscal responsibility and fighting blight and Erie’s housing crisis. Devlin’s case for change persuaded several Erie County Democratic committee members to back her challenge and she attacked the incumbent as a symbol of status quo politics. A Republican has not governed Erie since 1965, so Devlin will be the favorite to win November’s general election over Republican nominee Matthew Thomas.
