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The Democratic State Committee is mulling endorsements for Pa. treasurer, auditor general, and attorney general

Pennsylvania voters will decide on major party candidates for state row offices in the 2024 primary election.

Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta speaks during a press conference to discuss community needs and concerns related to the monkeypox outbreak at the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia in July 2022.
Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta speaks during a press conference to discuss community needs and concerns related to the monkeypox outbreak at the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia in July 2022.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

The Democratic State Committee will vote Saturday on whether to endorse candidates for “row offices” — Pennsylvania’s treasurer, auditor general, and attorney general.

Clout hears the party will likely endorse State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia for auditor general and may also back State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro of Erie County for treasurer.

In the five-candidate primary for attorney general, the party is expected to make no endorsement. Candidates need support from two-thirds of the voting state committee members. That’s a tough target with five qualified candidates splitting the vote.

Kenyatta, who announced his bid for auditor general in March, faces State Rep. Mark Rozzi of Berks County and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.

He has already stacked up a pile of endorsements as he seeks to challenge Republican one-term incumbent Tim DeFoor of Dauphin County.

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And he got a shout-out from Shapiro, who called him “representative and soon-to-be general Malcolm Kenyatta” during a Philly fundraiser Monday for President Joe Biden.

Pinsley, who entered the race just before Thanksgiving, acknowledges that Kenyatta has plenty of backing and hopes to make the primary about qualifications for the job. Rozzi did not respond to requests for comment.

For treasurer, Bizzarro’s chances for an endorsement were boosted by former Philadelphia City Controller Alan Butkovitz withdrawing from the primary this week after suffering a heart attack last month.

“I’d like to think I have the leg up, based on the amount of votes I have committed,” said Bizzarro, who wants the nomination to challenge one-term Republican Stacy Garrity.

Bizzarro is competing with Erin McClelland, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014 and 2016 in Allegheny County. She cautioned that the party might endorse no women for statewide office next year.

“I’m running against the machine and that’s nothing new to me,” McClelland said.

For attorney general, the Democratic contenders are Philadelphia State Rep. Jared Solomon, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Philadelphia top public defender Keir Bradford-Grey, and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

“We have five candidates and you need two-thirds [support] so it’s a tough hill to climb,” DePasquale said.

A version of this article was included in this week’s Clout, a weekly roundup providing often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.