State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is hoping to leverage his tenure as the state’s elected fiscal watchdog to make a run for U.S. Congress.
DePasquale made the official announcement on social media Sunday after a week of reports that he had told Democratic Party leaders he planned to run for Congress in the 10th District. The seat is held by four-term Republican Rep. Scott Perry.
“Tomorrow I file my paperwork for Congress to shake up Washington, D.C., and make it work for all Americans,” DePasquale said on Twitter.
The 10th District includes the cities of Harrisburg and York and has about 23,000 more registered Republican voters than Democrats.
Perry, an Iraq War veteran, narrowly won re-election last November over first-time candidate George Scott. The victory margin was less than 3 percentage points, providing encouragement to DePasquale that he can beat Perry in 2020.
Another incentive for DePasquale is that he is in his second four-year term as auditor general and is constitutionally barred from serving a third. According to the Auditor General’s website, DePasquale’s audits identified nearly $600 million in misspent or potentially recoverable state money during his first term.
A Pittsburgh native, DePasquale is the grandson of the late Eugene “Jeep” DePasquale, a longtime president of Pittsburgh City Council.
He was a high school athlete who helped lead the Central Catholic football team to a PIAA State championship in 1988.
One other Democrat so far, Tom Brier, has announced his candidacy for the nomination to challenge Perry.
