The Republican Committee of Allegheny County has elected a retired Pittsburgh homicide detective as its new chairman.
Brian Weismantle, 60, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, replaces former Chairman Jason Richey of Sewickley, who chose not to seek reelection because he is running for lieutenant governor.
“Our focus will be on rebuilding, strengthening and expanding our organization so that we can better serve Republicans across Allegheny County and effectively advance our shared principles,” Weismantle said in a statement on the GOP committee’s Facebook page.
Weismantle narrowly defeated Moon’s Crystal Barr, 233 votes to 220, to secure the committee’s top post, according to the county GOP. Absentee and in-person votes were tallied Saturday.
Weismantle ran for Allegheny County sheriff last year, but came up short against Democratic incumbent Sheriff Kevin Kraus, who collected about 72% of the votes cast compared to Weismantle’s nearly 28%.
Richey became chairman in February 2025, running unopposed in a committee election to replace former Chairman Sam DeMarco. DeMarco, also a former Allegheny County councilman, stepped down to become the Southwest regional director for U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Squirrel Hill.
This spring, Richey earned the Republican nomination to run for lieutenant governor. He is running with GOP gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity of Bradford County, the state treasurer.
Democrats have longed maintained a voter registration edge over Republicans in Allegheny County, but the gap has narrowed. Today 54.9% of the county’s registered voters are Democrats, down from 59.4% a decade ago, while the share of Republicans has inched up slightly, from 28.1% a decade ago to 28.7% today, according to state voter records.
“We’re looking to help grow our party and move it forward. We want to unite all our voters and get our voters more involved,” Weismantle said in a phone interview.