In November, the race for Pennsylvania’s attorney general will be between Democrat Eugene DiPasquale and Dave Sunday.
ABOVE PHOTO: PA Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, speaking at a rally against the Trump-Republican lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), August 28, 2019.
Photo: Anthony Grove/Commonwealth Media Services
By Denise Clay-Murray
On the website for his attorney general campaign, Democrat Eugene DiPasquale, Pennsylvania’s former auditor general, touts himself as someone with a record of standing up to bullies.
Meanwhile on his website, Dave Sunday, the Republican currently serving his second term as the district attorney for York County, tells voters on his website that he’s tough on crime and fighting for you.
In November, Pennsylvania voters will decide which one of these approaches they prefer as they select the Commonwealth’s new attorney general. DiPasquale and Sunday won the nominations for their respective parties during Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary election.
Michelle Henry, the current attorney general appointed to fill the expired terms of former attorney general and current Gov. Josh Shapiro, opted not to run for her own four-year term.
Sunday defeated State Rep. Craig Williams for his party’s nomination with 70% of the vote. He was the endorsed Republican candidate and called his winning the nomination proof that Republicans in the Commonwealth shared is belief in what the attorney general’s office can be.
“We have to hold people accountable, but on the other end of it, we have to embrace redemption as a society,” Sunday said at his election night victory party.
Sunday had a much easier road to the nomination than his fellow York Countian, DiPasquale did. DiPasquale was one of five Democrats vying for the party’s nomination, and he bested Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, State Rep. Jared Solomon, and former Chief Defender Keir Bradford-Grey for the nod with 31% of the vote.
DiPasquale, who had also served in the State House before becoming auditor general, had the dual advantage of being from Western Pennsylvania — all of his opponents were from Southeastern Pennsylvania — and having run statewide.
But now that he’s won the nomination, DiPasquale hopes to run a campaign that everyone in the Commonwealth can support.
“We won tonight because our campaign is about every Pennsylvanian,” DiPasquale said in a statement. “Now, it’s time to unite toward a common vision – to make democracy work for all of us, defend abortion rights so women can get the healthcare they need, and stand up to big shots and billionaires so working families can get ahead.”
Had she been successful in her attempt, Bradford-Grey would have been the first person of color to be a party’s nominee for the office. She also would have been the first Black woman to win the seat.
While she fell short in her attempt, Bradford-Grey hoped that she was able to make an impression.
“I think at the end of the day, we set out to do something different, to do something that no one’s ever done before and to put out a different understanding and awareness,” she said.
Pundits are saying that the Pennsylvania attorney general’s race stands to be one of the most watched and one of the most expensive races this election cycle. While the AG handles such things as consumer issues and voting laws in addition to some criminal matters.
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