Martell Covington

American politician

Martell Covington

Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 24th district
In office April 26, 2022 (2022-04-26) – January 3, 2023 (2023-01-03)
Preceded by	Ed Gainey
Succeeded by	La'Tasha Mayes

Personal details
Born	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Education	Howard University (BBA)
Website	Legislature website

Martell Covington is an American politician serving as a Democratic member in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 24th district in Allegheny County. He won a 2022 special election to succeed Ed Gainey, who was elected Mayor of Pittsburgh in 2021.^[1]

Early life and education

Covington is from Homewood, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh.^[2] For more than 12 years, he worked in various roles for the Community Empowerment Association, a social service organization on the east side of Pittsburgh, eventually becoming the Assistant Director of Youth & Family Services. He is currently chair of its board of directors. Covington served as a legislative aide to state Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, where he worked on critical developments for the Pittsburgh region, including serving as a leadership team member for the Oakland Business Improvement District’s Strategic Plan and a technical advisor for the Oakland Plan. In 2021, he was elected to serve as Vice President for the Young Democrats of Allegheny County. Covington also is part of the Black Equity Coalition's Policy Team. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and Howard University.^[3]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Covington worked as an aide to Jay Costa, a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. The Allegheny County Democratic Committee nominated Covington for an April 2022 special election to succeed Ed Gainey in the Pennsylvania House, he won with .^[4]^[1] He was sworn in on April 26, 2022.^[5] He lost renomination to La'Tasha Mayes in the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022.^[6]

Electoral history

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 24 Democratic primary
*Preliminary results*^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La'Tasha Mayes	5,241	46.72
	Democratic	Martell Covington (incumbent)	4,239	37.79
	Democratic	Randall Taylor	1,737	15.49
Total votes			11,217	100%

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 24 special election
*Preliminary results*^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martell Covington	5,101	92.95
	Republican	Todd Elliott Koger	313	5.70
	Write-in		74	1.35
Total votes			5,488	100%
	Democratic hold

References

^ ^a ^b Felton, Julia (April 5, 2022). "Martell Covington, Aerion Abney poised to replace Ed Gainey, Jake Wheatley in state legislature". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
^ "Costa aide, lifelong Homewood resident Martell Covington to run for Gainey's state House seat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
^ Felton, Julia (January 12, 2022). "Martell Covington launches bid for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey's former state House seat". TribLIVE.com.
^ Deto, Ryan (February 5, 2022). "Martell Covington wins District 24 nominating session, favored to finish out state House term". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
^ "Covington takes oath for state representative". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. April 26, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
^ Felton, Julia (May 18, 2022). "La'Tasha Mayes poised to win Democratic nomination in 24th State House District". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
^ "May 17, 2022 Special Election Unofficial Results – Representative in the General Assembly Allegheny County". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
^ "April 5, 2022 Special Election Unofficial Results – Representative in the General Assembly District 24". Election Night Reporting. Allegheny County Elections Division. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.