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Incumbent Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Concedes To Ed Gainey On Twitter

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Incumbent candidate Bill Peduto has unexpectedly conceded the Democratic primary election for Pittsburgh Mayor to State Rep. Ed Gainey late Tuesday night.

"I just called @gainey_ed and congratulated him on earning the Democratic endorsement for Mayor of the city of Pittsburgh. Wishing him well. Thank you Pittsburgh for the honor of being your Mayor these past 8 years. I will remain forever grateful," Peduto wrote on Twitter.

This originally came as just over 50% of precincts in Allegheny County were reporting unofficial results. As of around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, over 90% of precincts are reporting.

Watch KDKA-TV Political Editor Jon Delano's analysis of this major upset

As of 11:32 p.m. Tuesday, Gainey leads with 46.25%, while Peduto lags behind at 39.58%.

"One person can't change a city," Gainey said Tuesday night. "A city is changed with all of us. A city is changed when we all come together, to change the quality of life for everybody. That's why I ran for mayor because I believe that we can have a city for all. And we will work hard, not just I as mayor, but we as a community, we as a city, will work to build a better city called Pittsburgh for everybody."

KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso went to a Peduto Campaign election gathering, which was reportedly somber.

While Peduto told supporters he wished had another four years, he said that he was leaving the city a better place.

"I want to congratulate Rep. Ed Gainey as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, and I pledge to do my work in order to help to elect the first Black Mayor of Pittsburgh," Peduto said to his supporters. "And I am asking all of you to do the same, that we all work together as one."

"I'm honored, humbled, and proud that the people of Pittsburgh have placed their faith in me by making me their Democratic Nominee for the office of Mayor," Gainey said in a formal statement. "This election made history, and I'm ready to go to work building a Pittsburgh where all can belong, contribute, and succeed."

You can keep up with the election results as they come in tonight with our primary election results tracker, which you can find here.

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