A mock ballot gets placed into a mock ballot box.
On November 5, Pitt students and voters in Allegheny County will make their voices heard in the 2024 general election. Below is a list of the candidates for the presidential race, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives race and key local Allegheny offices and referendums.
US President
Kamala Harris is currently the vice president of the United States and began her presidential campaign when President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election. Harris, a Howard University and University of California Hastings College of Law graduate, became the first female, Black and South Asian attorney general in California history in 2010 and served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. Harris’s policies support cutting taxes for middle-class families, reproductive rights and growing small businesses.
Donald Trump served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and ran for reelection in 2020. Trump is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in economics. His campaign priorities include strengthening the economy, lowering inflation and reducing illegal immigration by increasing immigration security at the southern U.S. border.
Chase Oliver, born in Nashville, Tennessee, was a Democrat from Georgia before joining the Libertarian Party in 2010. Oliver first ran for public office back in 2020 as the Libertarian nominee for Georgia’s fifth Congressional district special election and again in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia. Oliver supports reproductive rights, ending qualified immunity for law enforcement and abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.
Jill Stein, born in Chicago, Illinois, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree. She then graduated from Harvard Medical School and went on to practice medicine for over 25 years. She was the presidential candidate for the Green Party in the 2012 and 2016 elections. Stein supports a national ban on fracking, cutting military spending and the creation of green jobs, industries and technologies.
PA State Senate
Bob Casey has held the Pennsylvania Senate seat since 2007. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Theresa Casey and Bob Casey Sr., a former Pennsylvania governor. Casey was the Pennsylvania auditor general from 1997-2005 and treasurer from 2005-2007 before being elected to the U.S. Senate. Casey, a graduate of The Catholic University of America, supports improving child health and education through his Five Freedoms For America’s Children agenda and advocating for middle-class families.
Dave McCormick is a combat veteran, businessman and former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest investment firms in the world. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, McCormick earned his doctorate in international relations from Princeton University. McCormick served as the U.S. Treasury Under Secretary of International Affairs from 2007-2009. He supports increasing border security, reducing the cost of living and lowering energy prices.
John Thomas, a Pennsylvania native, earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Thomas has worked as an educator for over 20 years working in public, private and charter school education. He says he will “stand up for Pennsylvanians tired of their hard-earned money going to foreign wars across the world.”
Leila Hazou is a Pike County, Pennsylvania, resident who received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and an MBA from Loyola College. She became a project manager in an investment firm in NYC and now owns a small business in Milford, PA. Hazou joined the Senate election to defend human rights in Pennsylvania and around the world.
Marty Selker was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania, where he has spent his life and career. He was a construction worker and is currently a truck driver for the natural gas sector. The 2020 election led Selker to the Constitution Party, and he was elected and served as the chairman of the Clarion County Constitution Party. Selker supports a strong national defense, safeguarding the welfare of the American family and reining in government spending.
Attorney General
Eugene DePasquale, a Pittsburgh native, served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 and served two terms as the Pennsylvania auditor general from 2013 to 2021. DePasquale received a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster, later earning an MPP from the University of Pittsburgh and a JD from Widener University Commonwealth Law School. DePasquale supports defending reproductive rights, advocating for consumer protection and strengthening public education.
Dave Sunday was born in Harrisburg and raised in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Navy before attending Penn State University and Widener University Commonwealth Law School. Sunday was elected York County district attorney in 2017, and his primary goals revolve around public safety and combating the opioid epidemic.
Robert Cowburn earned a bachelor’s degree from Point Park University and a JD from Suffolk University. He has over 21 years of experience as an attorney. Cowburn supports bringing job-creating industries to Pennsylvania, educational reforms and the expansion of charter schools.
Richard Weiss earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a JD from the University of Denver. He has experience working as an attorney and supports criminal justice reforms and the phasing out of fossil fuels.
Justin L. Magill (Constitution)
Justin Magill, a resident of Erie County, spent 3 1/2 years in the U.S Army and two years in the Army reserves while earning a bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He received his JD from the Roger Williams University School of Law. Magill believes in the importance of “election integrity” and “protect[ing] public officials who refuse to abuse the rights of Pennsylvanians.”
Eric Settle received his JD from George Washington Law School and his bachelor’s cum laude from Colgate University. Throughout his career, Settle was Deputy General Counsel to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge from 1995-1997 and was the president of Main Line Reform Temple from 2014-2016. Throughout his campaign he has worked to gain recognition for the Forward party, which supports an open primary system that includes all voters in an aim to break the gridlock of the two-party system.
Auditor General
Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia native with a bachelor’s in Public Communications from Temple University and an M.S. in Strategic and Digital Communications from Drexel University, serves as a member of the Philadelphia Delegation leadership team. In 2018, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color in, and one of the youngest members of, the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Kenyatta supports ending poverty and mass incarceration, creating access to affordable healthcare and equitable schooling.
Tim DeFoor is currently the incumbent Pennsylvania Auditor General. DeFoor earned bachelor’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh and earned a master’s degree from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. He has over 30 years of auditing and fraud investigation experience, as he started his career as a special investigator. Later in his career, he became a fraud investigator and internal auditor for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. DeFoor is running on a platform of ensuring tax dollars will be spent to lower taxes, creating better jobs and schools and improving the cost of living.
Reece Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Allegheny College and works in the financial services industries. He leads volunteer organizations in his hometown of Crafton, Pennsylvania, and engages with local government. Smith wants to audit politicians, and he opposes bipartisan corruption.
Eric K. Anton (American Solidarity)
Eric Anton joined the American Solidarity Party in 2017. He was elected to the ASP’s national committee twice — in 2018 and 2023. He currently is the ASP state coordinator for Pennsylvania and currently has the endorsement of Pennsylvania members of the ASP.
Bob Goodrich, a Tioga County native, enlisted in the Army after high school and served for 25 years. He now serves as the headmaster at Wesley Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Goodrich has also taken on other service roles through vacation Bible school, children and youth ministries, the American Legion and as a fire department volunteer and Osceola Township supervisor. Goodrich is running for Auditor general “because of his dedication to his community and to future generations.”
State Treasurer
Erin McClellan, a native of Western Pennsylvania, received a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She worked as a substance abuse and mental health counselor for 15 years and began working at the Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addiction as process improvement manager in 2003. McClelland supports managing taxpayer money and advocating for public sector workers.
Elected in 2020, Stacy Garrity is the incumbent Pennsylvania treasurer. Stacy earned a degree in finance and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and later received a certificate from the Cornell University Business Management Institute. She served as colonel in the Army Reserve, serving three deployments in defense of the United States. Garrity supports eliminating financial waste and hidden fees and making education more affordable.
Nickolas Ciesielski (Libertarian)
Nickolas Ciesielski, a Pennsylvania native, earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Throughout his career, he has worked as a mechanical engineer in various industries. He became involved with the Libertarian party back in 2020 and currently serves as the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Westmoreland County. He supports privatizing government-run services, unlocking and developing other methods of energy production and promoting the use of gold and Bitcoin.
Troy Bowman, an Air Force and Air National Guard veteran, works in information technology. He lives in Manheim Township and is running for office “to spread the word of the Constitution Party.” Bowman supports cutting government spending.
Chris Foster, a Pittsburgh native and entrepreneur, was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party. He recently aligned with the Forward Party this year to bring an independent view to the office of state treasurer.
Congressional Representative
Summer Lee, born and raised in the Mon Valley, became the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania to be elected to Congress in 2022. Since being elected, she has supported working families, workers’ rights and sustainable jobs.
James Hayes, the son of a steel worker, has a bachelor’s degree in international economics and a master’s from Princeton. Hayes supports “American values,” law enforcement and economic development.
Senator in the General Assembly
Jay Costa, Jr., a lifelong resident of Allegheny County, currently serves as a Pennsylvania State Senate member representing the 43rd District. Costa earned a bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the Duquesne University School of Law. Costa supports reproductive rights and healthcare, fostering good public schools and gun violence prevention.
Representatives in the General Assembly
Dan Frankel, born in Pittsburgh, was first elected to the House in 1998. He is a Pennsylvania House of Representatives member for the 23rd District, where he serves as the Democratic chair of the House Health Committee and a Rules Committee member. Frankel supports reproductive rights and healthcare, green energy solutions and firearm policy reform.
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