Attorney General-elect Dave Sunday, who ran as a tough on crime prosecutor, defeated former Auditor Eugene DePasquale

Republican Dave Sunday, a US Navy Veteran, flipped Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office from Democrat to Republican by a commanding margin. The current Attorney General Republican-turned Democrat Michelle Henry was appointed to the position in 2023 after Josh Shapiro ascended to the Governorship. Henry, who previously served as Josh Shapiro’s deputy Attorney General, agreed not to run for a full term when she was appointed, creating an open race. Although Democrats had a very competitive primary with five credible candidates, former State Auditor Eugene DePasquale utilized his advantage as the only candidate from Western Pennsylvania to win the nomination. Republicans did not have a competitive primary and Dave Sunday, the District Attorney of York County, won the nomination in a landslide. Although DePasquale had a huge name recognition advantage from his two successful statewide Auditor campaigns (one of which came in 2016 even as Trump carried the state), his lack of trial experience hampered him on the campaign trail. Sunday attacked DePasquale on the airwaves for having never served as a prosecutor and having little to no courtroom experience. Sunday, who benefited from millions in donations by Jeff Yass a conservative megadonor, also highlighted his experience as a County Prosecutor and promised to take a  “tough on crime” stance as Attorney General, a message that ultimately resonated. Sunday outperformed the top of the ticket across the state carrying bellwether counties like Northampton, Erie, and Bucks by large margins as well as blue-leaning counties like Lehigh, Centre, and Monroe.

A map depicting Dave Sunday’s 5-point victory over Eugene DePasquale courtesy of the New York Times. Sunday outperformed Trump who carried the state by a little under 2% points.