Stacy Garrity

Stacy L. Garrity (born May 17, 1964) is an American politician, businesswoman, and former United States Army Reserve officer who has served as the 79th treasurer of Pennsylvania since 2021. A Republican, she upset incumbent Democrat Joe Torsella in 2020 despite being outraised and trailing in polls. She won reelection in 2024, defeating Democratic challenger Erin McClelland with 51.9% of the vote.

Garrity served for 30 years in the Army Reserve, deploying three times during the Gulf and Iraq Wars and earning the nickname "The Angel of the Desert." She retired as a colonel in 2016. She worked at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. from 1987 to 2021, rising to vice president. In 2019, she lost the Republican primary for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district to Fred Keller. In August 2025, she announced her candidacy for governor of Pennsylvania in 2026.

Early life and education Garrity was born on May 17, 1964, in Athens, Pennsylvania. She attended Sayre Area High School in Sayre, Pennsylvania and later graduated from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania with a degree in finance and economics, later earning a certificate from the Cornell University Business Management Institute.

Military career

Garrity served in the United States Army Reserve from 1986 to 2016, reaching a final rank of colonel. While in the Army Reserve, Garrity served as a military police officer. Garrity was deployed three times during her military career: in 1991 for the Gulf War, and in 2003–2004 as well as 2008–2009 for the Iraq War.

Garrity was stationed at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq during the Iraq War. She worked to process detainees, manage family visitations, and act as a Red Cross liaison. It was here Garrity obtained the nickname "The Angel of the Desert" or "The Angel of Camp Bucca" for her affection when dealing with the prisoners housed at the camp. GTP is a producer of tungsten and metallurgic products based in Pennsylvania. Before leaving GTP to become Pennsylvania Treasurer, Garrity's final position at the company was vice president for Government Affairs and Industry Liaison.

In 2017, Global Tungsten & Powders was sued in federal court by a competitor company, Tungsten Heavy Powder and Parts, for defamation. Tungsten Heavy Powder and Parts alleged that Garrity spread defamatory statements about them at an industry event.

Political career Congressional campaign In 2019, Garrity ran for the Republican nomination in a special election for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional district after the resignation of incumbent Republican Tom Marino. Garrity lost the nomination to state representative Fred Keller, who was supported by president Donald Trump and eventually won the seat.

Pennsylvania treasurer Garrity (center) with Dan Meuser and Matt Cartwright in 2023.

Comments on the 2020 presidential election On multiple occasions, Garrity has supported Donald Trump's claims that he won the 2020 presidential election. On January 5, 2021, she spoke at a rally in Harrisburg asking lawmakers to decertify Pennsylvania's election results. On May 6, 2022, Garrity appeared at a rally with former president Trump and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz in Greensburg, endorsing Trump's claim to have won the 2020 election.

First term Garrity challenged incumbent Democrat Joe Torsella for Pennsylvania treasurer in January 2020,

On November 10, 2020, a week after election day, Torsella called Garrity to concede the race, with Garrity leading by 78,000 votes at the time of his concession. It was the first time a Republican had unseated an incumbent Democrat for a statewide office in Pennsylvania since 1994. The letter said that the government should not "bully corporations into curtailing legal activities," but it also threatened that the state governments represented by the signatory officials may divest their state funds from any banks that no longer support fossil fuel projects.

In honor of National College Savings Day in 2021, Garrity had the Pennsylvania Treasury offer $100 to families that opened 529 college savings plans.

In 2021, in her ex-officio capacity on the board of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, Garrity joined a group of "dissident" board members opposing the contemporary management of the pension fund's investments, arguing instead that the pension fund should invest in low-fee, public investments. After failing to dismiss the fund's managers, the dissident group of board members, including Garrity's predecessor Joe Torsella, successfully blocked an investment strategy proposed by the fund managers in September 2021.

In 2022, Garrity opposed governor Tom Wolf's proposal to award state employees with five days vacation from work if they got vaccinated for COVID-19, claiming that it would cost the state government 100 million dollars. The Wolf administration claimed that Garrity's cost estimate was seriously exaggerated. Pennsylvania Secretary of Administration Michael Newsome, whose position reports to the governor, estimated the cost of the vacation incentives to be $45 million. Pennsylvania Money Match will authorize Treasury to automatically return single-owner property for living individuals valued up to $5,000 to the rightful owner after a thorough identification and verification process.

Second term

In 2024, Garrity ran for a second term as state treasurer. She defeated Democratic challenger Erin McClelland in the general election. Garrity received more than 3.5 million votes, the most cast for any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history.

In 2025, Garrity introduced a program offering $500 million in low-interest loans to county and local governments who had been affected by a state budget impasse, which had put local funding on hold due to the budget being three months overdue.

Garrity is a vocal supporter of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congressional Republicans in July 2025. The legislation cut $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and $1 trillion from Medicaid.

2026 gubernatorial campaign In August 2025, Garrity launched her bid for governor of Pennsylvania against incumbent Josh Shapiro. In March 2026, Trump hosted a fundraiser for her at Mar-a-Lago. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2026, in which Garrity won the primary uncontested.

Electoral history