HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — One task facing voters across Pennsylvania this fall is keeping an eye on government agencies. A second manages the state money. And the third oversees hundreds of prosecutors.
Republican incumbent Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Tim DeFoor are trying to keep their seats as the race for the state’s top prosecutor is open. The statewide offices pay about $198,000 per year.
The race for attorney general pits Republican York County District Attorney Dave Sunday against former Auditor General and state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, the Democratic Party nominee. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, is running against DeFoor, while Democrat Erin McClelland hopes to unseat Garrity.
A look at Pennsylvania’s major party candidates for attorney general, auditor general and treasurer:
Attorney General
On Sunday, a Navy veteran highlighted his 15 years as a prosecutor in York County, a Republican-majority area of about 460,000 residents south of Harrisburg, near Maryland.
DePasquale is an attorney, former York City economic development director and three-term state representative. As auditor general, he drew attention to a large backlog of untested rape kits, unanswered calls to Pennsylvania’s ChildLine child abuse hotline and conditions in nursing homes.
The time DePasquale spends running the auditor general’s office “has nothing to do with criminal justice,” Sunday said during a debate earlier this month.
DePasquale, who lives in Pittsburgh, said he would prioritize protecting votes and emphasized his support for abortion rights.
Sunday said he would “uphold and defend Pennsylvania’s abortion laws,” arguing that there is “no scenario in which I would ever prosecute a woman for having an abortion.” Many of Sunday’s Republican supporters support an abortion ban, DePasquale said, and Republican Party lawmakers tried to push through a constitutional amendment saying it does not guarantee rights related to abortion or public financing of abortions.
DePasquale said he has “serious concerns” about the death penalty, while on Sunday he said he supports the death penalty in the “sadest, most tragic and terrible cases.”
Kathleen Kane became the first woman and first Democrat elected attorney general in 2012. Pennsylvania’s attorneys general have all been Republicans since the position became an elected post in 1980. Kane’s tenure ended with her resignation after she was charged with perjury and other crimes in the US. 2016.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, succeeded her and won reelection in 2020. He left his job after being elected governor nearly two years ago. Shapiro chose his top deputy in the attorney general’s office, Michelle Henry, as his successor, but when she was confirmed she said she would not run for re-election.
Auditor General
DeFoor, a former Dauphin County comptroller who won by about 3 percentage points in 2020, has focused on increasing financial literacy and planning a forensic audit unit to respond to signs of crime.
His recent decision to audit the motorcycle voter registration system drew resistance from Shapiro’s transportation secretary and Kenyatta, who said his opponent’s move would “provide cover for dangerous conspiracies and election denial.”
Kenyatta became the first openly gay person of color to serve in the State House. He finished third in the 2022 Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate, which was won by John Fetterman. At the same time, he is seeking another term as a state representative.
“I’ve been doing this same kind of work for over 30 years,” DeFoor said. “I have spent my entire career asking questions about how taxpayer money is being used, whether it is being used appropriately and whether government programs are working?”
Kenyatta has criticized DeFoor’s decision to end school audits, which DeFoor said were of little value to districts.
The Auditor General could have changed the scope of school audits instead of blocking them, Kenyatta said.
DeFoor chaired the audits of the balances kept in the school district’s books and of state reimbursements paid to pharmacy benefit managers under Medicaid, but Kenyatta said they were poorly conducted and politically motivated. Kenyatta said his priorities include an audit of school facilities and an investigation into how labor laws are enforced.
Treasurer
Garrity, a retired Army Reserve colonel and three-round Iraq veteran, was vice president of a tungsten smelter when she defeated incumbent Democratic Treasurer Joe Torsella by less than 1 percentage point four years ago. Garrity, a resident of Athens, Bradford County, has aggressively promoted her office’s efforts to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners.
She is also credited with administering state savings programs for people with disabilities and students, and for pushing the governor and Legislature to increase savings in the state’s rainy day fund.
McClelland, a former congressional candidate with a background in mental health and substance abuse counseling who lives near Pittsburgh, argues that Garrity tends to use her position to engage in issues related to the national political debate .
“I want to take all the politics out of my work,” McClelland said. “I believe this job is to be an honest broker who protects taxpayers, not a lapdog for one party or the other.”
Garrity’s campaign has portrayed McClelland as lacking gravitas. Garrity’s much better-funded campaign got an indirect boost earlier this month when Shapiro announced the support of several fellow Democrats but endorsed no one in the treasurer’s race.
Shapiro’s endorsements were intended for candidates who requested his support and who he believes “can make the biggest difference,” a spokesperson said.
