2003 Allegheny County Executive election

2003 Allegheny County Executive election

←  1999 November 4, 2003 2007  →

Nominee Dan Onorato Jim Roddey Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 200,201 146,914 Percentage 57.48% 42.18%

Allegheny County Executive before election Jim Roddey Republican Elected Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato Democratic

The 2003 Allegheny County Executive election was held on November 4, 2003. Incumbent Jim Roddey, the first elected County Executive, ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by County Controller Dan Onorato, the Democratic nominee. Onorato defeated Roddey by a wide margin, winning his first term as County Executive with 57 percent of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Dan Onorato, County Controller ^[1]

Declined

• Jack Wagner, State Senator ^[2]
• Cyril Wecht, County Coroner, 1999 Democratic nominee for County Executive ^[3]

Primary results

Democratic primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan Onorato	100,780	100.00%
Total votes			100,780	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Roddey, incumbent County Executive ^[5]

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Roddey (inc.)	43,135	100.00%
Total votes			43,135	100.00%

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Dan Onorato (D)	Jim Roddey (R)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA [6]	October 30 – November 1, 2003	566 (CV)	± 4.2%	54%	42%	4%

Results

2003 Allegheny County Executive election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dan Onorato	200,201	57.48%
	Republican	Jim Roddey (inc.)	146,914	42.18%
	Write-in		1,197	0.34%
Total votes			348,312	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   CV – certain voters
   V – unclear

References

1. O'Toole, James; Cohan, Jeffrey (February 8, 2003). "Onorato in executive's race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. D1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
2. O'Toole, James (January 26, 2003). "Wagner passes on run for exec". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. A13. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
3. Cohan, Jeffrey (December 6, 2002). "Wecht won't run for county exec". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. B15. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
4. "Allegheny County Official Election Results". Allegheny County Elections Division. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
5. O'Toole, James (January 28, 2003). "Roddey starts re-election bid". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. B1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
6. "Allegheny Voters Dump Roddey, Elect Dem Onorato County Exec" (PDF). November 4, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
7. "Allegheny County Official Election Results". Allegheny County Elections Division. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2025.