‘Pennsylvanians deserve better’: A Q&A with 2026 gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity made history in 2024 when she garnered more votes than any statewide candidate in commonwealth history en route to winning a second term as state treasurer. Now, Garrity is shifting her sights on the governor’s mansion, hoping to bring a new vision and new approach to the executive branch. 

“We used to lead the way, and we can do it again. I just have a totally different vision of where Pennsylvania can be,” Garrity told City & State in an exclusive interview where she discussed her motivations for running, her professional experience – including stints in corporate America and combat zones – and how she would approach working with a divided General Assembly in Harrisburg.

The following conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. 

If you win the election next year, what's at the top of your agenda for Pennsylvania in 2027?

We're right near the bottom on our economy, education results and infrastructure – and we also have one of the highest tax burdens in the country. It just doesn't have to be this way. My vision is that we need to lower taxes, because Pennsylvanians are paying too much and getting too little. We need to make Pennsylvania open for business again. We have the 14th-highest regulated state, and so we need to cut red tape, slash regulations and let our job creators thrive. 

We need to unleash Pennsylvania's energy industry. We're sitting on resources that can power America. I mean, of all the natural gas in the United States, Pennsylvania has 25% of it. If we unleash that, we will create tens of thousands of jobs. That would give our kids an opportunity to stay here, and it would also create billions of dollars in economic opportunity for our communities, which we desperately need. Also, I want to put parents in the driver's seat of their kids' education. I think parents, not bureaucrats, should decide where their kids go to school. I think we should do whatever we can to make sure that happens. Your zip code shouldn’t determine your kids' success. And then, of course, there are safe communities, because parents should not have to worry about their kids’ safety on the playground.

How would you navigate working with a very divided legislature?

We elected a coach, not a referee. So I would roll up my sleeves, I would not leave Harrisburg, and I would stay until we get a budget done. I come from the private sector and so I had to complete a budget every single year, and I had to do it on time. That means not everybody gets what they want, but you have to negotiate. We owe it to Pennsylvanians because they're relying on this funding for programs. My office is getting calls every day from schools, from counties, and it's crazy, because if people have to borrow money to keep their operations going, who's going to end up paying for that? Taxpayers. Every dollar is a taxpayer dollar. So I think that people forget that we're here to serve Pennsylvanians, not the other way around. Pennsylvanians deserve better. I go to all 67 counties every year, and what Pennsylvanians are telling me is that government doesn't work for them. Leaders need to lead from the front. I don't expect anybody to work harder than I work. But I would get it done. I think some of the reason is that legislators get paid regardless of if we have a budget or don't have a budget. That's been the case since 2009 – and that's ridiculous. We don't have a budget. If our schools can't get their funding, if our programs can't get their funding, then you know what? Anybody who's getting a salary from the state shouldn’t get paid either. I bet we'd have a budget then.

You’re an ally and supporter of President Donald Trump. How would you describe your relationship with the president, and if you're elected, do you envision a more collaborative working relationship between state and federal leaders?

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I have a great relationship with President Trump. We elected him to get the job done and he's doing it. He's accomplished so much in the first several months. I think everybody appreciates the no tax on tips, the no tax on overtime, the no tax on Social Security, doubling the child tax credit. The people that I talk to don't have any issue with an able-bodied person who has no dependents, has no disabilities, who isn't a caregiver working or volunteering or doing some sort of training 20 hours a week. I haven't met one person who disagreed with that.

What would you like voters to know about your military service and how it shapes your approach to public policy?

I did spend 30 years in the Army Reserve and I would still be serving if I had not hit my mandatory retirement date. I would have never even thought about running for treasurer, because serving was the honor of my lifetime. I have to tell you that every day that I get to get up and serve Pennsylvanians as the state treasurer is also a blessing. 

I had three combat deployments, all to the Middle East. In my last one, I was acting battalion commander at Camp Bucca in Southern Iraq in 2008-2009. We had 7,000 detainees. I had 1,200 soldiers, and we were the very first internment facility to have zero escape attempts and zero abuse allegations. 

I've always held a high standard, because once you lower your standard, you can never get it back up. I've always made sure that I took care of soldiers, because parents and spouses and kids’ loved ones are going off to a combat zone, you have a responsibility to make sure that they're taken care of and you bring everybody home. I would say the Army values – leadership, duty, service, respect, honor, integrity, personal courage – have really shaped who I am. I lead from the front, like I mentioned before, and I don't expect anybody to do something I wouldn't be willing to do – or work harder than I work. I think that's why we've been able to break basically every record at Treasury. 

I also believe I am the first row officer who, when the party changed, kept the staff. I got everyone saying, “Stacy, we know you're not a politician, but you have to get rid of the other side.” And I said, “Guys, I ran a battalion in a war zone, I think I can put together a staff.” I will work with anybody. I don't care if they're a Democrat, an Independent or a Republican. As long as they're good public servants and they want to make Pennsylvania a better place to live, work and raise a family, I will work with them. 

What are some of your favorite accomplishments at Treasury?

There are so many. We've given back over a billion dollars in unclaimed property. That's real money that belonged to people that we weren't getting back to them. So I broke the all-time record in one fiscal year, 2022-23, of $274 million returned in one year. Then I just broke that record this fiscal year and hit $289.5 million. We have $5 billion, so we are always striving to do more. 

Additionally, we received a gold rating for our PA 529 college and career savings plan. We are one of two states to get that gold rating for two consecutive years. So I'm really proud of that, because that means our plan is one of the most affordable and the best in the nation. I've reduced fees by over $22 million – and that's money that goes right back into the pockets of hard-working parents and grandparents so that they can put more money into their kids' education. 

Also, I run a program for Pennsylvanians with disabilities called PA ABLE. ABLE stands for “achieving a better life experience” – and assets have more than tripled since I've been in office, and our accounts have more than doubled. We are the fifth-largest ABLE program in the nation. Anything that we can do to help empower our Pennsylvanians with disabilities is great.

What do you want to take from Treasury and replicate in the governor's office?

One, we have an award-winning transparency portal. If you look at our transparency portal, you can see where every dollar is being spent that wasn't appropriated. If you look down there right now, you can see where we're spending money for health, safety and welfare. Before that, you couldn't. We can also see where all of our taxpayer dollars are being spent. I think that's really important. I would like an open checkbook so we can see how every dollar in the entire commonwealth is being spent.

Since Treasury makes every single payment in the commonwealth, we have a fiscal review section in our transparency portal, where we pre-audit approximately 86% of all payments that are processed. Typically, we'll stop close to $2 billion in improper payments, and this is after it's already gone through two agencies. I think there's a lot we can do to tighten things up. We have to balance our budget. Every year that I've been at Treasury, we've run a deficit – and I'm talking the Commonwealth, not the Pennsylvania Treasury. Last fiscal year, which ended June 30, we spent $3 billion more than what we brought in. What that means, if we continue on that current trajectory, we would be out of the surplus, out of the Rainy Day Fund, in two years. Taxes would have to go up if we don't find some other revenue streams. Think about it: You have to basically find $5 to $6 billion a year. We already have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, so Pennsylvanians can't afford for their taxes to go up. You know that both sides love to spend taxpayer dollars, so that's something that I think has to be addressed. We can't wait until we're out of money. 

What is your closing message to voters? 

Pennsylvania has been a mediocre state for years and years and years. Most people think that this is the way it has to be, and it doesn't have to be. I am proud to serve as our state treasurer, but now I'm running for governor against Josh Shapiro because I think he's failed our state. I have always fought for what's right throughout my career – when I was in the military, when I was in the private sector, when I'm here as treasurer – and that is exactly what I would do as Pennsylvania's next governor. I have a totally different vision for our commonwealth, and if I'm elected, I'll lower taxes, bring more jobs here, make our communities safer, put parents in the driver's seat of their kids’ education, and just make our state more affordable. We can do it together. I believe in Pennsylvanians, and I love this commonwealth – and my only ambition is to serve well.