State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) has his eyes set on another statewide office and announced his candidacy for Auditor General during a Thursday press conference.
“I’ve traveled all across this commonwealth and I’ve met so many families just like my own,” he said on his website. “Good people, who work their butts off and still the basic bargain of a good school, a good job, and a safe community is out of reach. I know it all too well. We deserve a government that works for working families. That starts with being serious about fixing what’s broken. And it means having an Auditor General who isn’t afraid to stand up for those too often forgotten by our government.”
Kenyatta ran an unsuccessful campaign last spring for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by John Fetterman.
That run raised the profile of the 32-year-old who is the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color and one of the youngest members elected to the PA General Assembly in 2018.
“I’m running for Auditor General because it’s time for the underdog to be a watchdog for Pennsylvania’s working families,” his website states. “To ask the tough questions, to help reimagine and streamline government, and to help build the coalitions to fix what’s wrong. It’s what I’ve done as a State Representative for nearly five years, working to protect workers’ rights, enact common-sense gun safety policies, and root out government corruption and waste.”
Kenyatta has already lined up many key players in the Commonwealth’s Democratic leadership, receiving endorsements from Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia/Delaware), State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), Mayor of Pittsburgh Ed Gainey and five members of the state’s Congressional Delegation – Dwight Evans, Matt Cartwright, Madeleine Dean, Susan Wild and Summer Lee.
He has also already been backed by the American Federation of Teachers, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776.
Kenyatta intends to use the office to demand accountability from schools, stand up for workers by taking on wage theft, employee misclassification and union busting, as well as supporting efforts to make communities healthier and safer.
“Folks in every corner of Pennsylvania have welcomed me into their neighborhoods, their homes and their faith communities,” he wrote. “They’ve told me their stories and I’ve shared my own. In those conversations we’ve talked about Pennsylvania’s problems, but also its promise. Young people born today will live into the next century. What we do now and how we do it will determine the inheritance we leave.”
Should Kenyatta earn the nomination, he would likely face Republican Timothy DeFoor, the current Auditor General, in the November 2024 general election.
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7 Responses
Kenyatta needs to go away. His ego has outgrown his fat head.
After the debacle with Summer and Austin, the absolute first question on any dem state committee member’s lips should be – Are you going to run for Auditor General AND state rep at the same time?
When was the last time that any Democratic or Republican politician in Pennsylvania ever gave up a safe State Rep Seat. to run for another office during the same election cycle. The only one I can remember is Bryan Sims last year. Please it with us if you can recall some else who did the same thing.
I hate to say that the provision in the Philadelphia City Charter which holds that you must resign from your city elected office to run for another office is a good one. It should be adopted statewide.
Wagner resigned from the state Senate when he won the Republican nomination for Governor vs Wolf.
Denlinger gave up a safe House seat to challenge Aument in the Senate primary to replace Brubaker.
John Eichelberger gave up a very safe State Senate seat when he ran (and lost) for Congress.
Steve Bloom gave up a safe State House seat when he ran (and lost) for Congress.
Dem Brendan Boyle on the other hand – ran for the State House and Congress at the same time.
By in large, republicans have a better record then democrats on this front.
“Kenyatta, 32, first won election to the state House in 2018, and since has emerged as one of the chamber’s more vocally progressive members. He said Thursday that he plans to run for reelection to his North Philadelphia-based House seat even as he mounts his bid to become the state’s next elected fiscal watchdog. “You don’t quit your job because you’re looking for a promotion,” Kenyatta told reporters.
So this guy, a State Rep who came in third in a US Senate run and has ZERO auditing experience wants to go toe to toe with an incumbent in Tim DeFoor who is actually….an AUDITOR…an award winning Auditor at that…with years of experience.
Remember the last Democrat who ran against DeFoor in ’20??
Right!!!….Well…this guy has less auditing experience than her…and she had more money…
This upstart Democrat is just long on talk and short on deliverables and who of late only has a minimal St. Rep record, a failed US Senate campaign and a documentary to burnish his image.
Republicans should easily win with this kind of first rate incumbent whom, by all accounts; has done a stand up job for Pennsylavanians.
Running for another office? Really? This guy doesn’t miss an election, does he? What has he accomplished in his two terms in the House of Representatives? Bills passed? A major project or program that he funded, completed or started? Will he try to lead a Pittsburgh crowd in a chant of “Fly Eagles Fly” like he did in January? If he succeeded, that would be an accomplishment, for sure. Would it be asking too much to want another Democratic nominee for auditor general? I’ll be looking forward to the Malcolm Kenyatta for: Auditor General President 2028 campaign,