Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Pa. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale won't run for Congress

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said he seriously considered running for U.S. House in a district reconfigured in the new state Supreme Court-authored congressional map, but ultimately decided not to do it.

State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Monday that he will not run for Congress, ending about a week of speculation.
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Monday that he will not run for Congress, ending about a week of speculation.Read moreMatt O'Rourke / AP
    by Liz Navratil, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Published 

HARRISBURG — Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Monday morning that he won't run for U.S. House, ending days of speculation.

DePasquale, a Democrat from York County, said many people contacted him after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a new congressional map last week and asked if he would be interested in running in one of the newly revised districts; his home district was drawn in a way that made it more competitive for Democrats than before.

DePasquale said he seriously considered a run because he's frustrated with dysfunction in Washington and felt an obligation to the country. But, he said, he ultimately felt he needed to fulfill a campaign promise to complete his term as auditor general and that he still has work to do in that office. He was elected to a second four-year term in 2016.

"Everything I would do for the next nine months, instead of being viewed as how it's going to make Pennsylvania better, would be viewed through the political lens," he said. "So, I think it would take away nine months of critical work."