Local Pennsylvania races

Attorney General
David Freed (Republican)
Freed has served as the Cumberland County district attorney since 2006, where he has prosecuted cases involving capital murder, child and elder abuse and drugs trafficking. He ran unopposed in the primary. If elected, he has pledged to crack down on cyber crime and illegal use of synthetic drugs. He has also proposed creating a new Special Victims Unit for lawyers, investigators and police officers to work together to respond to abuse-related cases.

Kathleen Kane (Democrat)
Kane formerly served as an assistant district attorney for Lackawanna County, where she prosecuted criminal cases involving white-collar crime, elder abuse and public corruption. She left that post in 2007 to work with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. If elected, Kane has said she would prioritize protecting senior citizens, and work to cut down on corruption at the state level. She has also pledged to be a consumer advocate by increasing transparency throughout the insurance industry. She has been endorsed by former President Bill Clinton and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Auditor General
John Maher (Republican)
Maher is the head of a public accounting firm, is a certified public accountant and has been a state representative since 1997, representing the 40th District.Maher launched and runs a CPA firm in Pennsylvania, creating jobs for Pennsylvanians. He also authored the state’s Lobbying Law, which puts restrictions on lobbyists and makes the process more transparent.

Eugene DePasquale (Democrat)
DePasquale has represented the 95th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2007. Before his election to the House, he served in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. If elected, he wishes to focus on investing in the state’s transportation, roads and bridges, protecting the environment and improving job creation.

State Treasurer
Diana Irey Vaughan (Republican)
Vaughan served as Washington County commissioner since 1995. She lost her 2006 bid for state representative. She is campaigning on pension reform and dealing with the mounting debt issue. She criticized incumbent Robert McCord for issuing $650 million in bonds in 2010.

Robert McCord (Democrat)
McCord is the incumbent state treasurer of Pennsylvania and has held the post since 2009. He studied economics at Harvard College and received an MBA from Wharton in 1989. Prior to assuming his post as treasurer, McCord worked as an independent business developer for science and technology companies. As Treasurer, he increased funding for the state’s 529 college savings program to make university tuition more affordable.

Representative in Congress for the Second District
Robert Allen Mansfield (Republican)
This Tea Party Republican enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1996 and served in Iraq. He wants to move to a consumer-based tax system but also supports a certain level of social safety net. He ran for the 2010 gubernatorial race but dropped out.

Chaka Fattah (Democrat)
Fattah, who received a master’s in government administration from Penn in 1986, has held this post since 1995. He is the creator of GEAR UP, an early college awareness program, as well as the lead Democratic advocate for federal science agencies, including NASA and the National Science Foundation. If elected, Fattah would be serving his tenth term as a congressman.

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