“A CPA for PA, an auditor for Auditor General,” those were the refrains heard time and again at John Maher’s campaign headquarters Tuesday night in Bethel Park. As the GOP Auditor General candidate, Maher is already looking toward November, when he will face Democrat and Pittsburgh native Eugene DePasquale. Maher said he’ll need to get the word out, explaining that “we’ll need about a million Democrats to win.”

Maher said reminding voters of his financial accounting background is a message he’ll be sticking with when it comes to getting votes across the political spectrum. He emphasized that in tight economic times, everyone understands the value of trimming waste.

“Pennsylvania has never had the benefit of an Auditor General who knows how to audit, and I believe the differences will be striking. Precisely what I will discover, I do not know, but I know I will discover a great deal, and you will know about it,” he said.

He noted that in the past 50 years, the office has only been won once by a Republican, and he will have to work hard to make a name for himself on a ballot crowded with presidential, senate, and state wide contests.

Maher beat fellow Republican Frank Pinto 66% to 34%.