Pennsylvania Treasurer race set for Garrity, McClelland

(WHTM) – Allegheny County Democrat Erin McClelland has won the primary race for Treasurer in an upset victory over State Representative Ryan Bizzarro, who received the state party’s endorsement last year, and will face incumbent Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

McClelland has worked as a substance use/mental health counselor and a policy advisor for the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

In 2014 and 2016, McClelland was the Democratic Party nominee for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District covering Cambria, Somerset, Beaver, Westmoreland, Lawrence, and Allegheny Counties. She lost the 2014 race by about 40,000 votes and the 2016 race by more than 84,000 votes.

“Being on the ballot with Donald Trump and seeing first-hand the issues of rural and working-class voters ignored by my own party was an experience and a conscious awareness that I carry with me to this day,” says McClelland on her campaign website.

McClelland says Pennsylvania needs to elect a Treasurer who is a “responsible, honest-broker” to rebuild the supply chain and manage taxpayer coffers “with diligence and accountability.”

Garrity narrowly won her first term as Treasurer in 2020, defeating Joseph Torsella by 52,546 votes. She was able to win in a year where Democrat Josh Shapiro won the Attorney Generals race by more than 300,000 votes and Joe Biden won Pennsylvania’s presidential election by less than 100,000 votes.

During her first four years as Treasurer, Garrity has prioritized unclaimed property in the Treasury. According to her campaign, the Treasury returned nearly $274 million to more than 174,000 Pennsylvanians in the fiscal year ending June 2023.

Garrity also banned TikTok on Treasury devices, saying “TikTok presents a clear danger due to its collection of personal data and its close connection to the communist Chinese government.”

Garrity has promised to eliminate waste and fight for a tax-deductible 401k-style retirement savings program.

A native of Athens, Bradford County, Garrity served in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Colonel and is the former Vice President of Global Tungsten and Powders Corp. in Bradford County.

Since 1960 Pennsylvania has only elected three Republicans to serve as Treasurer; in 2020 Garrity became the first Republican Treasurer since Barbara Hafer.

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