(The Center Square) – As Tim DeFoor enters the final two years of his second term as Pennsylvania’s Auditor General, he is considering a bid for another office in 2028.
“My parents always taught me that public service is a privilege and an opportunity to make your community better. Which is something I still believe in,” DeFoor said in a statement to The Center Square on Tuesday. “I’ve been fortunate to serve Pennsylvania in public office. My entire career has been spent reinforcing the importance of responsible government, fiscal accountability, and common-sense leadership. Pennsylvania needs leaders who are willing to put politics aside, focus on practical solutions, and put the interests of taxpayers first.”
“My focus right now is on serving as Auditor General and continuing the work we’ve started,” he continued. “However, I remain committed to finding ways to serve the people of Pennsylvania.”
DeFoor is term-limited from running for a third time in his current role. But sources say that he is contemplating a run for state treasurer.
DeFoor was first elected to public office in 2015, becoming the Dauphin County controller after having more than 30 years of experience as a special investigator with Pennsylvania’s Office of Inspector General, as a special agent with Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s Office, and in the private sector.
After winning a second term as Dauphin County controller, DeFoor launched a bid for state auditor general in 2020. He defeated Democrat Nina Ahmad by 3 points in the 2020 open-seat race, becoming the first person of color to win statewide office in Pennsylvania.
Then-President Donald Trump was the highest GOP vote-getter in the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, although DeFoor won 59 counties in the commonwealth, which is more than any other statewide candidate that cycle. While DeFoor and fellow Republican Stacy Garrity won her bid for State Treasurer in 2020, Pennsylvanians also backed a pair of Democrats – then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro to a second term and Joe Biden for Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes.
In 2024, DeFoor secured a second term by defeating Democratic state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia by 6 points.
In an interview with The Center Square in Bucks County on Nov. 2, the night before the 2026 midterm election, he acknowledged that he was considering a run for another office, but wouldn’t specify which one.
“Not ready to discuss that yet, but all I can say is there’s some things, one office in particular, that I’m considering,” DeFoor said to The Center Square.
“I’m going to spend the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, thinking about it,” DeFoor continued. “So by early next year, I’ll be ready to make a decision.”
The auditor general’s office serves as the state’s fiscal watchdog and is responsible for combing through all state money to ensure it is spent legally and properly.
When he announced his bid for re-election in 2023, DeFoor said he spent his first term focusing on improving and transforming the office in a “non-partisan way,” and specifically cited how his office conducted audits for schools and advocated for financial literacy.
“Everybody who knows me knows that I’ve been doing this type of work my entire career, so I’m very passionate about it,” DeFoor said To The Center Square. “Just doing the work the way that it was intended, and knowing that we’ve done that, knowing that we also have received praise from people on both sides of the aisle, and to me, being in the middle of my second term is something that’s extremely important.”
“It means that I’m doing something great, which is just doing the job,” he continued. “So, I’m really happy about that.”
All of Pennsylvania’s row offices are limited to two terms.
In 2029, DeFoor will have to exit the auditor general’s office, while Garrity, who just lost her race for governor, will be term-limited out of her position as state Treasurer.
Christopher Nicholas, a longtime GOP consultant and publisher of the PA Political Digest, said another statewide run for DeFoor would follow expectations.
“The hope and expectation is that Tim DeFoor continues his terrific public service to the Commonwealth, as treasurer, based on the fact he’s done a terrific job as auditor general, and having run two successful campaigns for auditor general, that will definitely carry over to treasurer,” Nicholas told The Center Square. “So, the hope and expectation is that Tim DeFoor will run for and become Pennsylvania’s next treasurer.”
“With that seat taken care of,” he continued. “And obviously Dave Sunday, going to run for reelection to his second term, that means the party needs to go find a candidate for auditor general, whereas the Democrats have to go find candidates for all three of those positions.”
Although Garrity is also term-limited in her current role, she would not be able to run for auditor general in 2028, due to Pennsylvania’s Constitution prohibiting the state treasurer from being eligible to head the office of auditor general until four years after their term has finished.
While DeFoor would not confirm interest in a specific office, he cited what could be seen as a benefit to him if he were to run in 2028.
“The good thing about me, whatever I decide next, I have statewide recognition, and people know my name,” DeFoor said. “And they know the job that I’ve done as auditor general.”
If elected treasurer, DeFoor would not be the first Pennsylvanian to hold both offices.
Prior to winning a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2006, Bob Casey Jr. served two terms as Pennsylvania’s auditor general and was elected state treasurer in 2004.
However, Republicans may be facing headwinds in 2028 after the party suffered losses up and down the ballot in last week’s midterm election.
In Pennsylvania, Shapiro coasted to reelection, defeating Garrity by 22 points, just two years after President Donald Trump won the Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes.
For the first time in three decades, Democrats will have a trifecta in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly after flipping four state Senate seats. The party also added to its majority in the state House, giving Shapiro the ability to enact significant parts of his agenda.
And in Washington D.C., Democrats secured historic wins for U.S. Senate, flipping several seats blue for the first time in decades, while also holding a commanding advantage in the U.S. House. Four seats, targeted by Democrats, flipped from red to blue in Pennsylvania alone with the victories of Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, Scranton Mayor Pagie Cognetti, firefighters union leader Bob Brooks, and former television anchor Janelle Stelson.
This article was originally published by The Center Square and is republished under its open-access guidelines.