Incumbent Timothy DeFoor (R), Malcolm Kenyatta (D), and three other candidates are running in the general election for Pennsylvania Auditor General on November 5, 2024.
Pennsylvania’s Auditor General is responsible for using audits to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent legally and properly by state government entities.
In 2020, DeFoor defeated Nina Ahmad (D) 49.4% to 46.4%. DeFoor earned an associate degree in paralegal studies from Harrisburg Area Community College, a B.A. in sociology and history from the University of Pittsburgh, and an M.S. in project management from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. He served as Dauphin County Controller from 2016 to 2021 and worked as an investigator with the Pennsylvania Office of Inspector General, a special agent for the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, and a fraud investigator and internal auditor for federal contractors and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Health Plan. DeFoor is the first Republican to hold the auditor general position since 1997.
DeFoor is running on his record. On his website, he said, “While my first term has focused on improving and transforming the office, the next four years will be about finishing what we started and ensuring that our work on behalf of the taxpayers is executed to the highest professional auditing standards. I am committed to doing the job of Auditor General in a non-partisan way, something that I do not take lightly.” DeFoor’s website said he wants to “cut wasteful government spending to protect taxpayers and help create a stronger economy that allows businesses to create good paying jobs here in Pennsylvania,” and make sure “government is transparent on how it spends and uses taxpayer dollars and making sure the programs created to use them are working.”
Kenyatta earned a bachelor’s degree from Temple University and a master’s from Drexel University. He has served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing District 181 since 2018 and is also running for re-election this year. Previously, Kenyatta worked as a program coordinator at the Graduate Medical Education Department at Hahnemann University Hospital and as the diversity and inclusion engagement coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
Kenyatta is running on his experience in the House, and his campaign website says he wants to be Auditor General “because it’s time for the underdog to become the watchdog for Pennsylvania’s working families. I want to ask the tough questions, streamline government operations, and build coalitions to fix what’s broken. For over half a decade as a State Representative, I’ve worked to protect the right to vote, choose, and be protected in the job.” As Auditor General, Kenyatta says he will restart the annual school compliance audits, create a Bureau of Labor and Worker Protections, and ensure transparency on how large hospital nonprofits and long-term care providers use state dollars.
Eric Anton (American Solidarity Party), Alan Goodrich (Constitution Party), and Reece Smith (L) are also running.
Pennsylvania is one of 48 states with an auditor and one of eight states holding an election for auditor in 2024. Republicans hold five of the auditor positions up for election in 2024, and Democrats hold three.