Normally, the race for state auditor general of Pennsylvania would not exactly draw national press attention.
But with the results of the primaries Tuesday, the contest this fall for chief fiscal watchdog of the Keystone State will feature interesting candidates, and the winner may well emerge as a leading contender for governor in 2022.
Topping the six-candidate Democratic Party primary with 38% of the vote was Michael Lamb, four-term city controller of Pittsburgh and brother of Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa. A strong ally of the unions, Lamb campaigned on a platform, according to the Philly Voice, that was “against Wall Street, special interests, and the big corporations.”
Lamb will now face Republican Tim DeFoor, who, if elected, would be the first African American to win statewide office in Pennsylvania.
In sharp contrast to Lamb, Dauphin County Controller DeFoor is a conservative reformer with a background in law enforcement. A former special agent who has served in the state attorney general’s office and worked as a special investigator for the state inspector general's office, DeFoor established the first audit division of the county controller’s office. This, he points out, saved taxpayers over $1 million since January 2016.
The late Democrat Bob Casey Sr. was auditor general before winning the governorship in 1986, and his son Bob Jr. held the office before becoming a U.S. senator in 2006.
The present auditor general, Democrat Eugene DePasquale, is “termed out” after serving two four-year terms.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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