Incumbent Tim DeFoor and State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta face off in Pa. auditor general’s race

One of Philadelphia’s rising Democratic stars is looking to unseat one of Pennsylvania’s top Republicans in the race for auditor general.

Voters are set to decide whether State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta will become the state’s top fiscal watchdog, or if incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor will keep his seat for a second term.

When Pennsylvanians pay state taxes, those funds are deposited into the state’s treasury and eventually dispersed to government agencies or groups that contract with the government. The auditor general — one of the state’s three row offices — is responsible for monitoring the distribution of those funds to catch waste, fraud, and mismanagement and to ensure that state-funded programs are operating as they should.

A win for Kenyatta would affirm his status as a major player in his party, especially after his 2022 loss in his bid for U.S. Senate. For DeFoor, a win would grant him four more years in office as auditor generals can serve only two terms.

DeFoor, 62, is a Harrisburg native who had served as a special agent for the state attorney general’s office, an internal fraud manager and investigator for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the Dauphin County controller before his 2020 election.

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He’s touted his decades of experience in auditing roles in his reelection bid. In office, DeFoor audited public schools, pharmacy benefit managers, and volunteer fire programs, and championed a financial literacy program for K-12 students.

Kenyatta, 34, has represented his North Philadelphia district in the General Assembly since 2018 and has quickly become one of the Pennsylvania Democrats’ top public messengers. He’s been a key surrogate for both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the commonwealth, appearing on national broadcasts to stump for his party at critical moments in recent cycles.

The Democrat has no official experience as an auditor, and has instead pitched voters on his three legislative terms in Harrisburg and intricate knowledge of Pennsylvania’s $46 billion budget.

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A former community organizer and progressive reformer, Kenyatta proposed creating a Bureau of Labor and Worker Protections within the Auditor General’s Office that would investigate wage theft and union busting, and has called for more transparency from large health care nonprofits.