For the first time ahead of the general election, the Democratic and Republican candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general faced off in a debate on Thursday.

Former Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat, and York County District Attorney Dave Sunday, a Republican, discussed a wide range of issues for an hour on WGAL.

“Number one, we must make sure that we protect our democracy,” DePasquale replied in an answer to what his top priority would be if elected. “It has clearly been under threat, and we also have to make sure that our democracy is working for everybody.”

DePasquale said the next attorney general will be tasked with litigation to protect everyone’s right to vote. He also listed protecting communities, abortion rights, seniors, and children as priorities.

“I can tell you right now, if our community’s not safe, nothing else matters,” Sunday responded. “Our children are facing a brutal epidemic in fentanyl that kills 15 Pennsylvanians every day.”

Sunday also added keeping children and seniors safe as top priorities.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michele Henry is not seeking reelection, making the race to become the state’s top law enforcement official the only statewide open seat this cycle.

DePasquale, who served as the state’s auditor general from 2013 to 2021, highlighted his office’s work leading investigations finding over 3,000 untested rape kits, and 58,000 unanswered phone calls to the child abuse hotline, while highlighting personal experiences that he says will prepare him for the office.

“I’m the only one that’s run a complicated statewide agency,” DePasquale said. “That’s the type of leadership we’ll need on day one.”

Sunday, who is in his second term as York County District Attorney, detailed his 15-year record as a prosecutor and overseeing an office that has seen crime rates decrease. 

“Only one person standing here has ever been a prosecutor. Only one person standing here has ever been in front of a jury. Only one person standing here has ever conducted a criminal investigation,” Sunday said.

Both candidates promoted endorsements they’ve received during the debate. DePasquale touted having the support of Gov. Josh Shapiro and Planned Parenthood, while Sunday pointed to endorsements from the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police and the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association.

Although the debate remained heavily focused on policy, the two did direct some direct shots at the other over experience.

Gun Control

DePasquale said the state is “pretty good” at cracking down on those who pull the trigger, but called for holding the person accountable for selling the gun illegally.

He also said he’d advocate the state Legislature to implement universal background checks, close the gun show loophole, and red flag laws.

Sunday said that the “group violence initiative” in York County has helped reduce shootings and holding people accountable, while also saying that “constant communication” with the Black ministers association, nonprofits, and block leaders also helped improve outcomes.

Abortion

The candidates offered different responses when asked if they would prosecute a person or a doctor for performing an abortion, should a ban take effect in Pennsylvania. Under current state law, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

“I want to be very clear. I will never prosecute a woman or a doctor that performs an abortion. If you want someone that’s going to put a woman in jail that has an abortion, you’re going to need another attorney general, because it’s not going to be me,” DePasquale said. He also added that he’d protect any woman coming to Pennsylvania for an abortion from one of the states that has a ban. 

DePasquale highlighted his family’s personal experience, saying his wife had an ectopic pregnancy that was “technically an abortion,” that saved her life and allowed her to give birth to two kids later on.

Sunday said he talks about the issue on a regular basis with his wife and mother and added that “like I would every other law, I would absolutely enforce and defend the abortion laws in Pennsylvania,” citing the state’s current laws.

In regards to potential future legislation to ban abortion in Pennsylvania, Sunday said “it would never happen.”

DePasquale referenced Republicans in the state legislature who support a constitutional amendment that would create the ban and reemphasized his position. Sunday responded by saying “as a prosecutor, as a district attorney, we follow the facts and the law,” and said “there’s no scenario that exists where I would ever prosecute a woman for having an abortion.”

Death penalty 

The candidates discussed the serious nature of capital punishment and shared slightly different positions.

DePasquale said he has “serious concerns” about the death penalty, saying he believes life in prison is a “very tough sentence,” but said “it is the law and we will enforce the law to the fullest extent.”

“But I want to make it clear I have deep reservations about capital punishment, as does Gov. Shapiro, and I do support the legislature making it illegal in Pennsylvania,” DePasquale said.

Sunday cited the work on the issue he’s made through the district attorneys association, calling those cases “some of the absolute most sad, tragic, terrible cases you could possibly have.”

“The legislature has made it clear that there are certain factors that if they’re at play, then the jury could have the ability to render a verdict of death. When you talk about some of the brutal, violent murders of police officers, the just sad, brutal murders of children, if the death penalty is called for in those cases, then I will support it and I will seek the death penalty,” Sunday said. “But we have to be very cautious about it. We have to be thoughtful about it, and it has to be the last resort, not the first.”

Immigration 

Sunday detailed how important legal immigration is to society and mentioned that his wife moved to the United States from Sri Lanka, but that the current situation of migrants crossing at the U.S. Southern border was affecting those in the Keystone State. 

DePasquale also reiterated that the United States is a nation of immigrants, but said “it should be legal immigration.” He also called for compassion to those who are already here, particularly the children born in the U.S.

Elections

The debate moderator, WGAL’s Brian Roach, referenced Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state’s previous attorney general, being tasked with pushing back on lawsuits following the 2020 presidential election and asked the candidates how they would uphold results in “future free and fair elections.”

“As attorney general, regardless of who we vote for, our job is to make sure that any voter that is legally allowed to cast a vote and cast that vote legally has that vote fairly counted,” DePasquale said. “And the person that loses that election that happens to be a sore loser and files election lawsuits based on that, we cannot let that distort our judgment. We must defend Pennsylvania’s law.”

Sunday said he would handle such a case “just like I’ve handled everything that’s come across my desk, in a nonpartisan fashion. It is very simple, you apply the facts to the law. It doesn’t matter what your political party is. It doesn’t matter if you’re right, left, up, down, middle, none of it matters because our Constitution and our country is what comes first.”

Marijuana 

The two candidates also shared different views when asked about the benefits or drawbacks of legalizing recreational marijuana.

Sunday believes there has to be a voice in the discussion about safety, citing DUIs as examples.

“And so, because of how serious this is, you know, once you put the toothpaste out of the tube, it’s not going back in,” Sunday said. “We have to at least consider the public safety impact of this as we progress.”

DePasquale has supported the legalization and taxation of marijuana since 2017 and said it would be smart policy and smart safety to the communities if it is legalized.

“By legalizing it, you would actually make it harder for children to get it. You’d also make sure that the product is safer. You would also make sure that law enforcement is involved in the drafting of it. And certainly we need to make sure that we have the technology available for that anyone that’s driving under the influence, whether it be alcohol or marijuana, is prosecuted fully on that.”

A Franklin & Marshall College poll released in April showed that 62% of registered voters in Pennsylvania think recreational marijuana should be legalized in the state.

Racial disparities in criminal justice

Both candidates said they take the matter seriously, although had slightly different responses to how they currently view the matter. 

“Do I believe that there are times when people have racist intentions out there? The answer is yes. Do I believe that there are times that there are two justice systems for people of color and for people that aren’t? Yes,” DePasquale said. “And do I also think there are sometimes two justice systems for people that have economic means and people that don’t. The answer to that is yes.” 

“I can tell you that there’s no one that would not acknowledge that at some point in the past, there were racial disparities in our criminal justice system,” Sunday said. 

“What I can say is that as we’ve moved forward, we have embraced things like procedural justice,” Sunday added, and discussed the education and training he’s embraced in his position to take the matter seriously.

Both candidates also referenced the wrongful conviction unit as important to the office of attorney general. 

Unlike the race for president and U.S. Senate, there have not been as many public polls made available for the race for attorney general, however, an AARP-commissioned poll that was released on Oct. 1 showed DePasquale with 47% and Sunday at 44%, within the poll’s margin of error.

While DePasquale and Sunday were the only candidates on the stage on Thursday and are the frontrunners in the race, they are not the only candidates on the ballot for the statewide office. The Constitution Party’s Justin Magill, the Forward Party’s Eric Settle, the Green Party’s Richard Weiss, and Libertarian Party’s Robert Cowburn are also seeking the seat.

DePasquale and Sunday will face off again for a 60 minute debate on Oct. 15 at 7 PM, hosted by ABC27’s Dennis Owens, which will broadcast statewide.

Oct. 21 is the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania for the general election. The deadline to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot ballot is Oct. 29. 

The Pennsylvania general election is Nov. 5.