David McCormick, Republican

Washington, PA, native Dave McCormick is a businessperson, West Point graduate and Iraq combat veteran with a PhD from Princeton. McCormick served as Under Secretary of Treasury and Deputy National Security Advisor under President George W. Bush. In 2022, he ran in the Senate Republican primary and lost in a close race to Trump-endorsed Dr. Oz. (Oz then lost to Democrat John Fetterman.)

McCormick has taken a strong stance against China and advocated for removing the country from the World Health Organization and “revoking the benefits” of trade relations, including halting Chinese-to-U.S. import of solar panels, semiconductors and lithium batteries. Early in 2024, McCormick traveled to the Israel-Gaza border to emphasize his support of Israel and contrast himself to Biden, whom he said was doing too little for Israel. Following Super Tuesday, he endorsed Donald Trump as president.

McCormick retired in 2022 as an executive for the global hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates. He’s a multimillionaire who has touted his PA roots in commercials. Although he currently has two homes in Western PA, he has long spent most of his time with his family in their Westport, CT mansion. (He also has homes in Dallas, TX, and Colorado; he recently sold his Manhattan condo.) McCormick super PAC Keystone Renewal has attracted attention for its large donations from Wall Street investors, including $18 million from Ken Griffin of Citadel, Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone, and Paul Singer of Elliott Management.

Select endorsements: Pennsylvania’s Republican congressional delegation, National Republican Campaign Committee

David McCormick’s campaign website

PA ATTORNEY GENERAL in 2024

Former PA Attorney General (and later, Governor) Tom Corbett, describes the AG’s job this way: “You collect by suit and otherwise all debts, taxes and accounts due to the commonwealth, represent the commonwealth and law agencies in any action brought by or against the commonwealth, you administer the provisions relating to consumer protection and antitrust laws. That’s just a summary. There’s a lot more beyond that.”

“A lot more” includes, as The Citizen’s Larry Platt notes, protecting what we hold dear: “When one of the (gulp) nation’s leading presidential candidates has talked about terminating the Constitution, using the Justice Department to punish his political opponents, and deploying U.S. troops on domestic soil, who will be standing in the way of such Putinism? Who, in other words, will stand for the Rule of Law? Elected AGs, that’s who.”

The 2024 contest for AG pitted Democrat, former state Representative, and two-term Auditor General Eugene DePasquale against — and Forward Party Main Line upstart Eric Settle, a former healthcare attorney.

David Sunday, Republican

Sunday was District Attorney of York County from 2018, where he served as chief deputy prosecutor under his predecessor. He gained notoriety after being appointed special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to prosecute federal gang, gun and drug cases. As DA, he’s prioritized taking on the opioid epidemic, reforming the probation and parole system, and combating human trafficking. As AG, he’d be similarly law enforcement focused. Sunday serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the American Conservative Union’s prosecutor advisory board.

David Sunday’s campaign website

Select endorsements: PA Republican Party, Republican Attorneys General Association, Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association PAC

AUDITOR GENERAL

The Department of the Pennsylvania Auditor General, known elsewhere as a controller or auditor of public accounts, oversees how the Commonwealth spends taxpayer money. The office conducts audits of state schools, district courts, county offices and municipal pensions. Post-audit, they report their findings and make recommendations. In PA, the auditor general can serve for up to two four-year terms. The two main candidates: incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor, a Republican, and PA State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents North Philadelphia.

Timothy DeFoor, Republican

Tim DeFoor was elected PA’s auditor general in 2020, beating out current Philadelphia City Councilmember At-Large Nina Ahmad for the job by three points. The first person of color ever to fill a statewide row office, DeFoor has a long history of working in government. He began his career as a special investigator with the Office of Inspector General and later became Dauphin County controller, where he worked to create the county’s first audit division.

DeFoor mostly stuck to the basics as auditor general, such as auditing municipal funds, with one exception: He took the controversial step of closing his office’s Bureau of School Audits, laying off 11 workers, and handing the responsibility to the Department of Education. He also accused five Philadelphia-area school districts (and four more across the state) of increasing property taxes when they had sufficient funds; critics have said he misunderstood the budgeting process. During his reelection announcement, DeFoor said he has run the office “free of political and partisan influence.”

Timothy DeFoor’s campaign website

Select endorsements: Pennsylvania Republican Party

TREASURER

The Pennsylvania Office of the State Treasurer oversees more than $150 billion in state funds (including investments), receiving and depositing state monies. A PA treasurer can serve for up to two four-year terms. Candidates: Incumbent State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, and surprise Democratic nominee Erin McClelland, an addiction counselor and small business owner in Allegheny County.

Stacy Garrity, Republican

Current Treasurer Stacy Garrity won her first reelection campaign. Before joining elected office, she was a cost accountant at refractory powder manufacturer Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. A retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, Garrity twice received the Bronze Star for exceptional service. As treasurer, she has worked to expand and reform PA 529 higher-ed saving accounts, upgrade her department’s unclaimed property system, signed and invested $20 million in Israel Bonds, and objected to ESG investing, especially when it comes to climate change.

Garrity is a member of the State Financial Officers Foundation (which also objects to climate change-based investing) and the inaugural chair of the ABLE Savings Plan Network, a National Association of State Treasurers group championing tax-advantaged savings for people with eligible disabilities.

Having backed Trump’s lie that he won the 2020 presidential election, Garrity became the first state official to endorse Trump for reelection.

Stacy Garrity’s campaign website

Select endorsements: Republican Party of Pennsylvania, Life PAC

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Northeast, some of North Philadelphia, and much of the River Wards.

Brendan Boyle, Democrat

Brendan Boyle is running for his fifth term in Congress after being elected in 2014, and after seven years in the PA House of Representatives. Before serving in elected office, Boyle worked as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense. The son of Irish immigrants, he was the first person in his family to attend college, choosing the University of Notre Dame, then Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is the brother of current State Rep. Kevin Boyle, who lost his primary race after a highly publicized incident at a Montgomery County bar.

Boyle is known for championing income equality and expanded access to education and healthcare. He co-founded and chairs the Blue Collar Caucus, which focuses on stabilizing and growing manufacturing and business trades. He’s backed Biden at every turn, joined progressives to introduce the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act in 2021, and is currently a ranking member of the House Budget Committee. He’s also joined Congress’ Philadelphia delegation in seeking federal funding to remediate decaying Philadelphia school buildings.

Brendan Boyle’s campaign website

Select endorsements: Philadelphia Democratic Committee, Congressman Hakeem Jefferies, building and trade unions

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Northwest, West and some of South Philadelphia

Dwight Evans, Democrat (ran unopposed)

Dwight Evans, U.S. Congressman from the 3rd District since 2016, sought his fifth term in the office. Evans served as a PA House of Representatives member for more than 35 years and chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee for over 20 years. In Washington, D.C., he has worked to secure funding for affordable housing across Philadelphia. Evans has a $51 billion plan to address gun violence in the United States. He beat his opponent by nearly a 4-to-1 vote margin in his most recent reelection campaign.

Dwight Evans’ campaign website

Select endorsements: Congressional Black Caucus, League of Conservation Voters, PA AFL-CIO, National Education Association, UFCW 1176

5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Delaware County, an exclave of Chester County, a slice of Montgomery County, and a sliver of South Philadelphia

Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat

Mary Gay Scanlon won another opportunity to represent the 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, a role she’s served in since 2019. Before running for Congress, she was a lawyer at Ballard Spahr and an attorney at the Education Law Center. She serves on the House Committee on Rules and the House Judiciary Committee and is a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. She helped secure an $80 million grant for SEPTA to invest in low-to-no emissions buses.

Mary Gay Scanlon’s campaign website

Select endorsements: Philadelphia Democratic Party, Delaware County Democratic Party, Philadelphia AFL-CIO, National Education Association, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, End Citizens United, Sierra Club

PHILADELPHIA DELEGATES TO THE STATE SENATE

The PA Senate is the upper house of Pennsylvania’s legislative body, and the final stop for bills created in the house. Like the U.S. Senate, it is smaller than the lower house. Unlike the U.S. Senate, which gives each State two seats evenly, State Senators all represent proportional districts. Republicans currently hold a 28-22 majority, with 25 seats up for election in 2024.

Incumbent Democrats Nikil Saval (1st District), Sharif Street (3rd District) and Vincent Hughes (7th District) are running unopposed.

5TH DISTRICT

Parts of Northeast Philadelphia (Somerton, Bustleton, Pennypack Park, Torresdale, Homesburg, Bridesburg, including some of the River Wards of Tacony and Port Richmond).

Joe Picozzi, Republican

Somerton native Joe Picozzi upset Democratic hopeful Jimmy Dillon to represent parts of Northeast Philadelphia. Picozzi worked as a senior advisor in strategic planning at the conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute, an assistant to U.S. Rep. and former Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. He’s a graduate of Georgetown University, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, and was an Eagle Scout.

According to The Northeast Times, Picozzi ran “to preserve the ‘Northeast Philly dream,'” is “‘appalled’ at the open southern border, adding that the U.S. does not know the background of those illegally crossing,” and “opposes Philadelphia being a sanctuary city.”

In a 2017 story, NBC10 reported that, at age 21, Picozzi had made a list of “30 Under 30” for Red Alert Politics, a conservative news and opinion website in Washington, D.C., reporting he esd the youngest chair of the District’s Federation of College Republicans and worked on the 2016 campaigns for Bucks County’s Brian Fitzpatrick, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey and former President Donald Trump.

Picozzi’s concerns include quality of life issues such as litter, the cost of living, governmental accountability and potholes — along with crime. His candidacy announcement read, “We’re seeing shoplifting, car racing, burglaries and violent crime make their way from the inner city to our homes, in a way they never did 10 years ago.”

Joe Picozzi’s campaign website

REPRESENTATIVES IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

State Representatives are all elected on even-numbered years to two-year terms.

Whereas U.S. representatives each serve about 707,000 people, state reps serve small districts of about 62,500 residents, making them too small for most media market advertising. The size makes these races much more grassroots, even personal. If you know the 2024 election candidates in your area, it’s likely through door-knocking, house parties and community outreach rather than radio or TV.

Most incumbents — all Democrats, unless noted otherwise — ran unopposed, and were reelected: Amen Brown (10th District), Martina White (Republican, 170th District), Pat Gallagher (173rd District), Ed Neilson (174th District), MaryLouise Isaacson (175th District), Joe Hohenstein (177th District), Jason Dawkins (179th District), Jose A. Giral (180th District), Malcolm Kenyatta (181st District), Ben Waxman (182nd District), Elizabeth Fielder (184th District), Regina Young (185th District), Jordan Harris (186th District), Rick Krajewski (188th District), Roni Green (190th District), Joanna McClinton (191st District), Morgan Cephas (192nd District), Tarik Khan (194th District), Keith Harris (195th District), Danilo Burgos (197th District), Darisha Parker (198th District), Chris Rabb (200th District), Andre Carroll (201st District), Jared Solomon (202nd District), Anthony Bellmon (203rd District)

Only the 172nd District was contested.

172ND DISTRICT

Parts of Northeast Philadelphia, including Fox Chase, Burlholme and Rhawnhurst, plus Rockledge, Montgomery County

Sean Dougherty, Democrat

Sean Dougherty is an attorney who resigned as a public defender to run for office after the video of current state Rep. Kevin Boyle’s bar incident circulated on social media. Dougherty holds a law degree from Temple and clerked under Dan McCaffery, now a state Supreme Court justice.

The 30-year-old son of PA Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty is also the nephew of former labor leader John Dougherty, who was convicted on more than 60 counts of conspiracy and embezzlement in December 2023. (During Johnny Doc’s trial, Sean was repeatedly mentioned in connection with a no-show job.)

The Northeast Times wrote the Fox Chase resident’s priorities include public safety foremost, and abortion access, school funding, union jobs and “funding for Philadelphia police to train and retain officers and for public defenders’ offices to retain lawyers who he said have big caseloads but work for low pay.”

Sean Dougherty’s campaign website

Select endorsements: Building trades, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, PA Democratic Party, Philadelphia Democratic Party, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Planned Parenthood, Democratic state leaders

Every Voice, Every Vote funds Philadelphia media and community organizations to expand access to civic news and information. The coalition is led by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.