Whispers of Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s next move has circulated for months. The term limited York County Democrat has reportedly made up his mind.
Ally Mutnick of the National Journal tweeted out yesterday that DePasquale will launch a bid against incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District in early July. Hours later, the AP reported that two Democratic party officials, who wished to remain unnamed, confirmed the initial reports.
DePasquale told PoliticsPA in March that he wanted to continue his public service beyond this term and particularly focused on reform in Washington D.C.
Perry, serving in his fourth term in Congress, most recently bested Democrat George Scott in 2018 by a 2.5 point margin in the newly-drawn district, which is less conservative in comparison to the previous 4th District he represented.
In 2016, President Donald Trump and Perry both carried the boundaries of the 10th District by roughly double digits over Sec. Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty, while DePasquale narrowly edged out GOP AG candidate John Brown in the newly drawn district boundaries.
The DCCC has listed the 10th District as one of three seats the party is hoping to flip in 2020.
Prior to the initial trial balloon from DePasquale, the Pennsylvania GOP did not single out the AG between his election in 2012 and the day he emerged as a possible PA10 contender in 2019. Since the chatter of DePasquale mulling a bid for that seat ramped up, the PAGOP has sent multiple press releases pointing criticism at him and filed a Right to Know Request nearly 2 months ago to learn the costs associated with DePasquale’s recent public events in an effort to characterize his official publicity as a campaign asset.
DePasquale would not be the lone Democrat to seek the seat as of now. Tom Brier, an attorney and author, announced his candidacy for the seat a couple of months ago. Scott, who ran as the Democratic candidate in 2018, is “believed to be eyeing a 2020 comeback” according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
A spokesperson for DePasquale declined to comment on the report from the National Journal. PoliticsPA is seeking comment from Perry’s campaign.
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3 Responses
It’s a 2 step process –
Step 1: Defeat Perry in 2020.
Step 2: Defeat Toomey in 2022.
Most interesting, this means that our beloved State AG gets a clean shot at the Governorship in 2022…gives him a better flow for fundraising as he & DePasquale won’t be going head to head at the same contributors, while the Governorship should turn over as it traditionally does every 8 years, I don’t see yet on the horizon a Republican riding to the rescue, I wouldn’t bet. but the newly elected R replacing Tom Marino maybe someone to watch, if for no other reason than he’s served in Harrisburg, has a safe district & can use the Congress as a leapstart….
Looking forward to the announcement and eventual victory! DePasquale has the intelligence and fundraising ability to defeat Scott Perry!