Dave Sunday wins Pennsylvania attorney general race

Pennsylvania elected Republican Dave Sunday, the York County district attorney, as its next attorney general.

Sunday, 49, is a career prosecutor who has vowed to follow the law as written and take a conservative approach to the broad powers of the attorney general's office.

He will now be the state's top prosecutor, tasked with investigating corruption, enforcing the state's laws and representing the state's interests at the national level in lawsuits against the federal government or large corporations.

“I will work for every single Pennsylvanian every day,” Sunday said in a telephone interview early Wednesday morning. “I will work with everyone to do everything we can to increase public safety and work on substance abuse and mental health issues.”

Sunday declared victory before midnight at his campaign party, hours before the Associated Press called the race for him at 3:18 a.m. Wednesday with 91.9% of the vote counted.

Sunday and DePasquale waged a multi-million dollar battle for the open seat, seeking to appeal to voters through the more than $500 million spent on the presidential race in Pennsylvania, as well as a hard-fought and expensive race for the U.S. Senate. Sunday outspent DePasquale by at least two to one and was backed by the powerful Republican Attorneys General Association and a political action committee funded primarily by Pennsylvania's richest man, Jeffrey Yass, according to the latest campaign finance reports. (The latest reports from Sunday were not available until Wednesday.)

The career prosecutor said he believes it is the legislature's job to write the laws and would take a conservative approach to challenging state and federal laws. He opposes the legalization of recreational marijuana, supports Pennsylvania's current law allowing access to abortion up to 24 weeks and sees the opioid crisis as the state's biggest problem. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, the city's progressive prosecutor, had previously suggested that he and Sunday would enter into an adversarial relationship if they won.

” READ MORE: Meet Eugene DePasquale and Dave Sunday, the leading candidates to be Pennsylvania's next attorney general

Sunday comes to his job with a self-defined mission of responsibility and redemption to focus on as prosecutor. He hopes to consolidate and implement some of his county's successful intervention and prevention programs to address issues such as gang violence, mental health, addiction and the root causes of recidivism.

Attorney General Michelle Henry, appointed to serve the remainder of Gov. Josh Shapiro's term, will remain Pennsylvania's top law enforcement official until she is sworn in next Sunday.

Sunday lives in York County with his wife and 9-year-old son, who had to stay up just before midnight to hear his father's acceptance speech.

Voters across Pennsylvania had little to say Tuesday about Sunday or any election process. Most voters — Republicans and Democrats — said the presidential race motivated them to vote directly for their preferred party and didn't know much about the attorney general race.

Benjamin Hickinbotham, a 43-year-old Kennett Square resident, said he voted for an “all-Republican candidacy,” with top issues including U.S.-Mexico border security, abortion and the economy. Or Rebecca Smucker, 33, of East Earl in Lancaster County, who supported Trump and a full GOP ticket because she's “ready for some normalcy.”

Jane Guyer, 43, of East Earl, said she voted strictly Republican but didn't know much about the candidates who didn't vote other than Trump.

“I don’t really know how they’re doing,” Guyer said. “I follow the president.”

Staff writer Wendy Ruderman contributed reporting.