2020 Pennsylvania Auditor General election

Historically, the Democratic Party has controlled the Auditor General's office in the modern era. Between 1960 and 2016, the Democratic nominee for Auditor General has prevailed in all but two elections. The last Republican to serve as Auditor General was Barbara Hafer, who was elected in 1988 and 1992. Between 2000 and 2016, the nominee of the Democratic Party ran unopposed in their party's primary. However, between October 2019 when Bob Casey Jr. defeated three other candidates to advance to the general election. In contrast to similar offices in other states, the Pennsylvania Auditor General's office is seen as a potential stepping stone to higher office. Bob Casey Sr. and Bob Casey Jr. held the office prior to becoming governor and U.S. Senator, respectively, and auditors general Donald A. Bailey and Jack Wagner attempted gubernatorial campaigns during or after their tenure. prior to announcing he would run for Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. In 2019, the Pennsylvania General Assembly voted to reduce the budget of the auditor general's office by 10%. The cuts were seen by observers as a response to DePasquale's political activity. Impact of COVID-19 Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 25 the Pennsylvania General Assembly voted to delay the state's primary elections from April 28 to June 2. In October 2019, prior to the pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law an election reform bill which allowed for postal voting. In April, it was announced that Pennsylvania residents would be able to request a postal ballot over the internet, with an application deadline of May 26. The government encouraged postal voting in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 and maintain social distancing. Postal ballots were originally due to be received by election officials by 8 p.m. EDT on June 2. However, on June 1, Governor Wolf signed an executive order extending the deadline to June 9 for six counties, provided the ballots in question were postmarked no later than June 2. The counties impacted by the executive order were Philadelphia, Allegheny, Erie, Dauphin, Montgomery, and Delaware. On June 2, a judge granted Bucks County a postal ballot extension, bringing the total number of counties granted an extension to seven. ==Democratic primary==

Candidates Nominee • Nina Ahmad, former deputy mayor of Philadelphia and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2018 Defeated in primary • H. Scott Conklin, state representative from the 77th district since 2007 and Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2010 • Rose Davis, certified public accountant and vice chairman of the Smithfield Township Board of Auditors • Tracie Fountain, certified public accountant and former employee of the Auditor General's office • Christina Hartman, former nonprofit executive and Democratic nominee for in 2016 Withdrew • Alan Butkovitz, former Philadelphia city controller (2006–2018) and former state representative (1991–2005) Endorsements Campaign Christina Hartman became the first Democrat to officially enter the field in October 2019. Tracie Fountain, a longtime employee of the auditor general's office, resigned in order to mount a campaign. By January, the size of the field had swelled to seven candidates when Alan Butkovitz, the former Philadelphia City Controller, announced he was entering the race on January 23. Just eleven days later, however, Butkovitz withdrew from the race citing an intent to help Democrats win Pennsylvania in the 2020 United States presidential election. Hartman received the endorsement of former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell in December 2019. In January, Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb secured the endorsement of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, which Lamb later touted in an advertisement in the closing days of the campaign. Both Lamb and Ahmad sought to portray themselves as progressives. Ahmad pledged to use the auditor general's office to tackle issues such as gun violence and cited healthcare and prescription drug costs as "a big concern". Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ahmad also called for a pandemic preparedness audit. and stated that his first action would be to conduct an audit of the auditor general's office itself in the name of increased transparency. Lamb also supported legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania, and H. Scott Conklin As of May 29, Ahmad and Lamb reportedly had the highest spending on television advertising, while Conklin, Fountain, and Hartman had no television spending. Similarly, according to reports filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State in 2020, Ahmad led the field in campaign contributions with around $428,000, followed by Lamb with approximately $158,000. Rose Davis reported the lowest value of contributions, with only around $5,000 in total receipts. Results As results came in on election night, Michael Lamb appeared to be in the lead. However, as a result of the implementation of postal voting and extensions granted to seven counties the race was deemed too early to call. A majority of outstanding votes were from the southeastern portion of the state, where Nina Ahmad was expected to be strongest. Nina Ahmad claimed victory on June 11 and Michael Lamb conceded the race. ==Republican primary==

Candidates Nominee • Timothy DeFoor, Dauphin County controller Withdrew • Cris Dush, state representative from the 66th district since 2015 (running for State Senate) • Dennis Stuckey, former Lancaster County commissioner Declined • Mike Tobash, state representative from the 125th district Endorsements Campaign Lancaster County Commissioner Dennis Stuckey, whose term expired in 2020, became the first Republican to enter the primary in November 2019. Stuckey highlighted his record as a county official and his past experience in accounting and finance. However, later in January the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania voted to officially endorse DeFoor for the position with 199 votes, compared to 96 for Stuckey and 11 for Dush. and subsequently withdrew from the race on January 30. On February 13, 2020, Dush withdrew from the race in order to seek a seat in the Pennsylvania State Senate, leaving DeFoor the presumptive nominee. Results ==General election==

Polling Endorsements Results By county Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican • Beaver (largest city: Beaver) • Centre (largest municipality: State College) • Dauphin (largest municipality: Harrisburg) • Erie (largest municipality: Erie) • Luzerne (largest municipality: Wilkes-Barre) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic • Chester (largest municipality: West Chester) By congressional district DeFoor won 11 of 18 congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats. == References ==