Incumbent mayors had a good night in Allentown and Bethlehem, while a low-turnout primary election saw experienced county executive candidates prevail and set up partisan contests for November’s school board races.
Less than 1 in 5 registered voters participated in the primary, according to unofficial results. Northampton County’s voter turnout reached 17.7%, with ballots split between 21,916 in-person votes and 18,426 mail-in ballots. As of midnight, Lehigh County’s returns showed a 16.3% turnout, with 23,267 in-person votes and 17,462 mail-in ballots.
Low turnout in off-year elections is nothing new, especially in an off-year, municipal election: Turnout was only 22.5% for the 2023 Lehigh County primary election, and 19.23% in Northampton County that year.
Full results from primary night 2025 can be found here. Here are a few key takeaways:
Incumbent mayors run strong
Incumbent Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk faced down a Democratic primary challenge from City Council member Ed Zucal, who also ran a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination.
Early results showed Tuerk capturing 80% of the vote. He declared victory at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
It remains to be seen whether or not Zucal’s write-in campaign will gain him a slot on the Republican side of the general election ballot. When the election is certified, Zucal will need at least 100 Republican write-in votes and one more than anyone else seeking that office to earn that nomination.
In Bethlehem, councilmember Grace Crampsie Smith fell short in her challenge of incumbent Bethlehem Mayor J. Williams Reynolds in the Democratic primary.
As of midnight, Reynolds had captured nearly two-thirds of the vote.
Experienced executive candidates advance
Roger MacLean parlayed his experience as a former Allentown police chief, City Council president and one-time acting mayor into a victory over former Allentown School Board member Mike Welsh in the Republican primary for Lehigh County executive. MacLean held a 15-point lead at midnight, with a margin of more than 700 votes.
Democratic state Rep. Josh Siegel, who ran unopposed in his party’s primary, will face MacLean in November.
Strong grassroots support carried the night for County Controller Tara Zrinski, who declared victory over business owner Amy Cozze in the Democratic primary for Northampton County executive. With a margin of around 3,200 votes, Zrinski captured nearly 57% of the vote.
Zrinski served nearly six years on County Council before her 2023 election to County Controller. She will run against Republican Thomas Giovanni, who was unopposed in the primary, in November.
Partisan school board contests ahead
With districts facing the need to propose property tax hikes to balance budgets, school board candidates were focused on fiscal management. Although candidates de-emphasized national politics in their primary campaigns, preliminary results show few cross-filed candidates prevailed across party lines, setting up partisan contests for November.
Among the most crowded races were those in East Penn (seven candidates for four seats); Northampton Area (eight candidates for three seats); Parkland (six candidates, four seats); Southern Lehigh (eight candidates, four seats), and Saucon Valley (seven candidates, four seats).
Although preliminary results showed most candidates surviving the primary, a few races were too close to call. As of midnight, Saucon Valley’s totals showed Republican Kenneth Bloss trailing by just six votes — a margin of 0.1%. In Allentown, preliminary results showed Michael McDermott trailing Denzel Morris by 49 votes for the final spot on the ballot.
Check results here.
Originally Published: May 21, 2025 at 6:00 AM EDT
