The Democratic mayor of a down-on-its-luck former Pennsylvania steel town will soon be out of a job after being beaten in Tuesday's primary by an assistant high school band leader who highlighted the outgoing mayor's support of Donald Trump.
According to NBC, Monessen Mayor Louis Mavrakis became a national sensation when he threw his support behind then-candidate Trump during a highly-publicized campaign stop notable for Trump speaking in front of a wall of recycled trash. The Democrat's endorsement came back to haunt him in a recent mayoral primary that saw the 79-year-old former union organizer not advance to the general election.
According to the report, locals, led by 26-year-old Matt Shorraw were not pleased either by Trump's appearance in the town or the the endorsement of the Democratic mayor, with Shorraw vowing to primary Mavrakis.
"What bothered me the most was Trump's visit got our mayor a lot of press, but he basically used that press to say our city is a dump," Shorraw told NBC News.
On Tuesday, Mavrakis was defeated in the Democratic primary by Shorraw, sending the mayor to the sidelines.
The local Westmoreland Democratic Party broke their longstanding policy of not endorsing primary nominees to back Shorraw after Mavrakis's Trump endorsement
"Mavrakis was already lost to us," explained party chairperson Lorraine Petrosky.
