Malcolm Kenyatta and Mark Pinsley are running in the Democratic primary for Pa. auditor general. Here’s what to know.

When Pennsylvania holds its primary election on April 23, Democrats and Republicans will select their picks to vie to be the state’s chief fiscal watchdog.

The auditor general is responsible for conducting reviews of government departments and agencies to ensure that taxpayer money is spent properly and that programs meet their goals.

Auditor generals can serve up to two four-year terms. The seat, one of the three statewide row offices, is currently held by Timothy DeFoor, a Republican elected in 2020 who is running unopposed in the Republican primary as he seeks a second term.

While in office, DeFoor released a report on Pennsylvania public schools accusing districts of shifting money in their budgets to justify tax increases despite holding millions in reserve funds.

The incumbent will face a challenge in the general election from one of the two Democratic candidates, Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.

Auditor general can be a launching pad for higher office, with Democratic Sen. Bob Casey ascending from auditor general to the U.S. Senate in the 2006 election.

Here’s a closer look at the candidates.

Kenyatta, 33, was one of the youngest members ever elected to the state House when he won his North Philadelphia district’s seat in 2018 at the age of 28.

The progressive lawmaker elevated his platform stumping for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and commentating for MSNBC. He again broke barriers in 2022 as Pennsylvania’s first Black, openly gay candidate for U.S. Senate.

He is running for auditor general this year in addition to campaigning to retain his House seat, and is endorsed by the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee and other prominent members of his party.

Kenyatta told The Inquirer he’d bring leadership to the auditor’s office, backed by his experience overseeing tax policy and economic development on the House Commerce and Finance Committees.

If elected, Kenyatta said, he would create a bureau for labor and worker protections, which would audit how labor laws are enforced and whether unemployment programs are managed effectively.

Kenyatta has criticized DeFoor’s public school audit, saying some charter schools had far greater fund increases despite receiving less scrutiny. The candidate said he supports the return of School Bureau audits to oversee all types of educational institutions.

“So much of what the auditor general’s office can do, when you have the right leader, is be proactive and think outside of the box,” Kenyatta said.

Pinsley, a Montgomery County native and U.S. Army Reserve veteran, said he wants to “audit for impact,” citing his tenure as Lehigh’s controller.

Before Pinsley, 54, won that seat in 2019, he was commissioner for South Whitehall Township, and ran for state Senate in 2018 and 2022.

Pinsley is a self-described entrepreneur who owns the Delaware County-based skin-care business DermaMed Solutions. He has supported progressive causes, such as a proposal that would move Lehigh County funds from Wells Fargo after the bank supported antiabortion groups in 2022.

Pinsley has experience auditing the health-care industry.

His office’s allegation that a Lehigh Valley medical provider over-diagnosed Munchausen syndrome by proxy saved the county on foster care and legal costs, Pinsley said. The controller also audited the county’s insurance provider’s prescription drug plan.

“We should be hiring somebody who has done the job previously,” Pinsley said. “This isn’t a stepping-stone for the next thing. it’s in my background and in my blood.”

DeFoor, a Harrisburg native and former Dauphin County controller, has a background in auditing.

DeFoor, 62, has more than two decades of experience as an investigator and auditor in state departments, including the Attorney General’s office, where DeFoor investigated Medicaid fraud and illegal prescription drug diversion.

DeFoor ran against Democratic candidate Nina Ahmad in 2020, winning by a 3-point margin and becoming the state’s first Black row office official.

In office, DeFoor has championed financial literacy programs for K-12 students. In addition to his audit of public schools, DeFoor’s office has also monitored how volunteer fire groups spend state funds.

Should DeFoor win, he said, he would “expand on the work we have done and continue to hold government agencies and other entities, including pharmacy benefit managers, accountable through vigorous oversight,” the auditor general said in a statement.

A Ring doorbell video leaked in February showed Kenyatta telling a constituent that Pinsley doesn’t “like Black people.” Pinsley denied the claim, and said he expected an apology from Kenyatta.

Kenyatta has not elaborated on why he made the comment, attributing the video’s release to “dirty political tricks.”

When the candidates met face-to-face — virtually — during The Inquirer Editorial Board’s endorsement interview this week, Kenyatta said he did not have to apologize for refusing to engage in “a tit-for-tat.”

“This is all a distraction from the central question: How do we win in Pennsylvania, in what is going to be a very challenging year for Democrats in November,” Kenyatta said.

Also in February, a Chester County judge alleged that her signature appeared on Pinsley’s petition to get on the ballot, despite saying she never signed the document. Two other voters described similar stories.

Pinsley’s campaign said an internal investigation found nothing amiss, and no objections have been filed by state elections officials.