State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta to Run for Auditor General in 2024

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is the first person to announce their candidacy for the position to lead the state’s fiscal watchdog agency.

Democratic state lawmaker Malcolm Kenyatta announced last week that he is running for auditor general in next year’s election, getting an early start on the campaign to lead Pennsylvania’s fiscal watchdog agency.

In announcing his candidacy, Kenyatta, a Philadelphia-based state representative, promised to overhaul how the agency tracks state and local government spending.

“I think that it is time that we have an underdog to be the watchdog for working Pennsylvanians,” Kenyatta said.

The post is currently held by Republican Tim DeFoor, who has not publicly announced whether he will seek reelection to another four-year term.

The auditor general serves as the state’s fiscal watchdog, auditing how money is spent and getting a say in approving general obligation bond issues and tax-anticipation notes, both of which are debt securities used by the state to fund public projects.

Past state auditors have also been able to use the position to advance public policy goals, and it often serves as a springboard to other offices.

Kenyatta said he would reestablish school audits that DeFoor had discontinued and focus on issues related to working people, such as wage theft and union rights.

Kenyatta is the first to announce his candidacy for the office in 2024 and is already familiar to many Democrats.

Kenyatta, 32, came in third in the three-way Democratic primary for US Senate last year, raising $2 million for the campaign before losing to then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

Kenyatta is serving his third term in the state House of Representatives and, in his relatively short time in office, has become one of the most visible speakers during House floor debates.

He became the first openly gay Black person to serve in the state House after he was first elected in 2018.