Stacy Garrity breaks Pennsylvania vote record as Republicans sweep state row office races

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro set the record for the most votes received in a statewide election during his gubernatorial victory in 2022. Two years later, Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity has taken that title. 

Shapiro was the first Pennsylvania candidate to garner more than 2.9 million votes in a statewide election. But this week, multiple candidates surpassed the 3 million vote mark and Garrity, who received nearly 3.5 million votes, is now the record-holder for the most votes received – a total of 3,485,099 as of Friday morning. 

While many incumbents faced tough nights and election results, voters seeking change didn’t bring the same energy to down-ballot positions as treasurer, who oversees the state’s coffers, and auditor general, who conducts financial audits of public dollars. 

Garrity, the incumbent state treasurer who defeated Democratic challenger Erin McClelland handily, had the widest vote margin of any row office race – taking home nearly 52% of the vote. Incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor held off Democratic challenger Malcolm Kenyatta by a margin of 51-46% and Republican nominee for attorney general Dave Sunday defeated Democrat Eugene DePasquale, garnering nearly 51% of the vote as well. 

“As we look to the future, I am excited to continue working for you,” Garrity said in a statement. “Together, we will build on our successes and tackle the challenges ahead. Thank you, Pennsylvania, for your trust and support. I am honored to serve as your State Treasurer for another term, and I am ready to continue the work of making our Commonwealth a place of opportunity and prosperity for all.”

Garrity focused much of her first term on returning unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians, reducing fees and eliminating minimum deposit requirements for state-managed savings plans. She has said she would continue to prioritize increasing transparency and reducing wasteful state spending. It’s also worth noting that Garrity is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and spoke at a 2021 rally that sought to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election, a day before the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

If the GOP is looking for someone who could challenge Shapiro for the governor’s office in 2026, they may not need to look further than the row offices. 

Garrity has shown her ability to win statewide elections and garner support within her party. A straw poll from an annual conservative conference in April, which asked voters to write in who they wanted to see run for Pennsylvania governor in 2026, showed Garrity in first, with 7% of the vote. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the party’s 2022 nominee for governor who lost to Shapiro by double digits, came in second with 6% of the vote. 

Attorney General-elect Sunday, who will take over from Michelle Henry, whom Shapiro appointed to the position after he became governor, will lead an office that has frequently been a political stepping stone. 

The commonwealth has a history of attorney generals making a name for themselves first as the state’s leading prosecutor and then as governor, including the last two elected attorneys general in former Gov. Tom Corbett and Shapiro.