Pennsylvania AG race: Democrat Eugene DePasquale to face Republican Dave Sunday, AP projects

PHILADELPHIA - This fall’s showdown in the race for Pennsylvania Attorney General is set to feature projected primary winners Eugene DePasquale and Dave Sunday. 

DePasquale, a Democrat, is a former two-term auditor general who served as the state’s independently elected fiscal watchdog from 2013 through 2020. 

During his time in office, he called for the Legislature to ban gifts to public officials and said the state could reap a half-billion dollars in revenues if it legalized and taxed adult-use marijuana. 

DePasquale came out on top of a crowded Democratic primary that featured Philadelphia attorney Keir Bradford-Grey, former prosecutor and Bucks County solicitor Joe Khan, Philadelphia state Rep. Jared Solomon and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

Sunday, a Republican, York County’s District Attorney, was projected to beat out State Rep. Craig Williams. 

The attorney general’s office has a budget of about $140 million annually and plays a prominent role in arresting drug traffickers, fighting gun trafficking, defending state laws in court and protecting consumers from predatory practices.

No Republican has been elected attorney general since 2008. Candidates must file paperwork by Feb. 13 to appear on the April 23 primary ballot.

The current officeholder, Michelle Henry, is filling the last two years of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second term as attorney general.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.