Pittsburgh Attorney To Run For PA Attorney General

PITTSBURGH, PA - Mt. Lebanon attorney Heather Heidelbaugh announced Tuesday that she will attempt to unseat Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro next year. Heidelbaugh, a former Allegheny County councilwoman, currently is a partner at the Pittsburgh firm of Leech Tishman and practices all areas of courtroom litigation.

In announcing her bid for office, Heidelbaugh accused Shapiro of "headline chasing" and pledged to focus her attention on the legal work of the attorney general's office if elected.

“The ongoing misuse of government dollars and the continuing spread of narcotics and substance abuse are the things an attorney general should be pursuing,” Heidelbaugh said in a statement. “They can’t be conditioned on how doing the right thing might affect someone’s political future. Prosecutors need to do the right thing because it’s right, not because it’s politically convenient.”

Shapiro, formerly a Montgomery County commissioner and a state representative, has been attorney general since 2017. It's been widely speculated that if Shapiro is re-elected next year, he he will run for governor or attempt to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey in 2021.

Unsurprisingly, Toomey already has endorsed Heidelbaugh.

“She shares our values and respects the rule of law," Toomey said in a statement. "Her decades of legal experience in the courtroom and her passion for fighting for people from all walks of life set her apart in this race."