(WHTM) — Allegheny County Democrat Erin McClelland has won the Democratic primary race for Treasurer in an upset victory over State Representative Ryan Bizzarro, who received the state party’s endorsement last year.

McClelland has worked as a substance use/mental health counselor and a policy advisor for the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Bizzarro, who did win his uncontested House seat in Erie, released a statement on the Treasurer race late Tuesday night.

“Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy. Today, we again exercised our grand experiment of self-governance that our forefathers envisioned in Philadelphia almost 250 years ago. Pennsylvanians went to the polls and participated in our democratic process. While the results were not what I expected or hoped for, I respect the voters’ choice. My commitment to the Commonwealth and its people remains undiminished, and I look forward to continuing my work on behalf of all Pennsylvanians in the House of Representatives. I congratulate all of tonight’s winners, and I thank all of my supporters from the bottom of my heart.”

In 2014 and 2016, McClelland was the Democratic Party nominee for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District covering Cambria, Somerset, Beaver, Westmoreland, Lawrence, and Allegheny Counties. She lost the 2014 race by about 40,000 votes and the 2016 race by more than 84,000 votes.

“Being on the ballot with Donald Trump and seeing first-hand the issues of rural and working-class voters ignored by my own party was an experience and a conscious awareness that I carry with me to this day,” says McClelland on her campaign website.

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McClelland says Pennsylvania needs to elect a Treasurer who is a “responsible, honest-broker” to rebuild the supply chain and manage taxpayer coffers “with diligence and accountability.”

McClelland will now face incumbent Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the November general election.

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