State & local election results,

Tuesday was a good night for local Democrats.

Among the four competitive races for Allegheny County Council, two GOP incumbents were close to being toppled while a two Democratic incumbents cruised to easy victory.

An upset was brewing in the northern suburbs of District 3, where incumbent Republican Ed Kress was slipping behind challenger Anita Prizio, who held tight to a burgeoning lead late Tuesday.

Ms. Prizio, 54, a Democrat from O’Hara, owns a small business and served on O’Hara council from 1998 to 2006.

A married mother of two with a law degree and an MBA, Ms. Prizio owns Pittsburgh Crankshaft Service Inc., an automotive supply company with locations in East Liberty and Harrisburg.

During the campaign, she highlighted her business experience, saying “I don’t sell out. I sell engine parts.”

On Tuesday, Ms. Prizio said she was shocked by how well she did in her first district race.

“I’m so amazed. I never thought it would be this close,”

she said. “I don’t have the name recognition my opponent had. I’m surprised — completely surprised.”

A lawyer from Shaler, Mr. Kress, 46, is wrapping up his first full term on council after previously being appointed to the District 3 seat in 2005 and an at-large seat in 2011.

Asked whether national party politics may have played a role in what was shaping up as a big night for Democrats, Mr. Kress was circumspect.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I did what I could. I had all the endorsements from unions. You never know until the final vote comes in.”

Meanwhile, a barnburner was in the works late Tuesday in District 1, where incumbent Republican Tom Baker was barely clinging to a lead in the race, which favored Democratic challenger Jack Betkowski for most of the night.

Mr. Betkowski, a Ross commissioner, ran a successful write-in campaign in the primary. Mr. Baker, a former North Hills School District board member who is also from Ross, won the seat in 2013 and was seeking his second term.

In the eastern suburbs of District 8, longtime Councilman Charles Martoni, a Democrat from Swissvale, was poised to easily turn away a challenge from Republican challenger Michael Dell of Plum.

The story was the same in District 4, where incumbent Democrat Patrick Catena Jr. was cruising to an easy victory over Republican challenger Dimitrios Pantzoulas.