Who Is Stacy Garrity? Meet the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor
BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. —
Stacy Garrity is a Republican politician, business executive and retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel who is running for governor of Pennsylvania in 2026.
Video above: Fact-checking claims made about Garrity in Shapiro campaign ad
Here’s what we know about the Republican challenger.
Pennsylvania Treasury
Stacy Garrity
Garrity has served as Pennsylvania’s state treasurer since January 2021, winning election in 2020 and reelection in 2024. Her campaign emphasizes fiscal oversight, government transparency, economic growth and her record of military and public service.
Personal life and education
Garrity is a native of Bradford County in northeastern Pennsylvania. She graduated from Sayre High School and earned a degree in finance and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. She later completed a certificate program through Cornell University’s Business Management Institute.
Garrity has described herself as the first person in her family to attend college. She is married to Daniel Gizzi and lives in northeastern Pennsylvania.
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Pa. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity speaks during a visit to Coffee Inclusive in Pittston on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.
Military career and service in Iraq
Before entering electoral politics, Garrity spent approximately three decades in the U.S. Army Reserve. She retired in 2016 with the rank of colonel after serving in three overseas operations: Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008.
Garrity received two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit for her military service. She also gained national attention for her work at Camp Bucca, a U.S.-run detention facility in southern Iraq.
In a 2004 report, NPR described Garrity’s responsibilities at Camp Bucca, including detainee processing, family visitations, interpreter coordination and liaison work with the International Committee of the Red Cross. NPR said she helped establish a post-office system and obtained soccer balls and board games for detainees. Her approach led to the nickname “the Angel of the Desert,” the report said.
While serving in the Army Reserve, Garrity began working for Global Tungsten & Powders Corp., a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of refractory metal powders. She started as a cost accountant and advanced through the company’s leadership ranks.
Andrew Harnik
President of Mack Trucks Stephen Roy, U.S. Sen. David McCormick and Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity applaud as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations facility on June 23, 2026.
Election as Pennsylvania treasurer
Garrity entered statewide politics in 2020, when she challenged Democratic incumbent Joe Torsella for state treasurer. She won the election and was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s 78th treasurer on January 19, 2021.
She won a second term in November 2024 and was sworn in for that term on January 21, 2025.
Her first campaign focused on fiscal responsibility, transparency and limiting waste in state government. Since taking office, she has continued to describe herself as a fiscal watchdog for Pennsylvania taxpayers.
Tom Williams
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity speaks during a rally for Dave McCormick at Beerded Goat Brewery in Harrisburg on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Record as state treasurer
The Pennsylvania treasurer oversees the receipt, investment and disbursement of state funds. The office also administers programs involving unclaimed property, college savings, disability savings and other financial services.
Pennsylvania Treasury says Garrity’s office oversees more than $180 billion in state assets and has more than 300 employees. During her tenure, the department has highlighted several initiatives:
Returning more than $1 billion in unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians.Establishing Pennsylvania Money Match, which allows certain unclaimed property valued at $500 or less to be returned automatically.Reducing fees and eliminating the minimum deposit for PA 529 college and career savings accounts.Expanding the PA ABLE program for people with disabilities.Returning military decorations held in Treasury’s vault to veterans and their families.Improving Treasury’s systems for direct deposits, fast-track claims and unclaimed-property searches.
The Treasury reports that Pennsylvania Money Match returned nearly $50 million during its first year. The department also says it has returned more than 540 military decorations, including Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars and a Gold Star Medal.
SOPA Images
Pennsylvania Secretary Stacy Garrity speaks at a Republican Victory Party in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
2026 campaign for governor
Garrity announced her campaign for governor on August 18, 2025.
Her campaign argues that Pennsylvania needs a more financially disciplined and business-friendly administration. Garrity is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and has aligned herself with the Republican Party’s national conservative movement.
Garrity supports expanded school choice, including charter, cyber charter and private-school scholarship programs, alongside vocational education designed to prepare workers for an AI-driven economy, according to Spotlight PA. Her platform emphasizes stricter election safeguards, expanded natural gas production, data centers paying for their own power, lower income, property and inheritance taxes, and limits on state spending. She also proposes support for manufacturing and agriculture, infrastructure modernization using AI, tougher public-safety policies and cooperation with federal officials, including the Trump administration.
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