HARRISBURG — Republican Tim DeFoor has won a second term as Pennsylvania auditor general, besting Democrat Malcolm Kenyatta in a little-noted race to remain the commonwealth's elected watchdog.
The Associated Press called the race for DeFoor at 3:18 a.m. on Wednesday. Unofficial results show DeFoor with 51.3% of the vote to Kenyatta’s 45.9%.
Kenyatta formally conceded Wednesday morning, congratulating DeFoor in a post on social media and thanking his campaign team and supporters.
The victory secures DeFoor, 62, another four years in office, while allowing Republicans to hold onto a critical row office that can serve as a check on Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The auditor general is responsible for conducting financial audits to track how public dollars are spent and check for malfeasance or waste.
Many of the office’s audits, such as those of volunteer fire companies and municipal pension plans, are required by law. However, auditors general also have the discretion to dive into issues of their choosing.
In recent years, the office has looked at a backlog of rape kits, former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic business waiver program, and taxpayer-funded fees paid to pharmaceutical middlemen.
Historically, the office has also served as a launchpad for politicians with ambitions of higher office. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) previously served as auditor general.
DeFoor ran a relatively low-visibility campaign focused on the nuts and bolts of the office, and since May spent just $346,000 — most of it in coordinated aid from the Jeff Yass-funded Commonwealth Leaders Fund.
The first Black elected official to hold a row office, DeFoor was previously an auditor for UPMC and the Dauphin County controller. Like this year, he won the office in 2020 despite running a low-key campaign with little funding.
Kenyatta spent $816,000 since May, nearly all driven by his own fundraising from a number of classic Democratic allies in organized labor and the trial bar, alongside national groups that aid young and LGBTQ politicians.
This was Kenyatta’s second attempt to win higher office in the past two years. In 2022, he unsuccessfully pursued the Democratic nod for U.S. Senate, losing to eventual U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.
