Pat McCarthy (politician)

Patrice A. McCarthy (born 1953)^[1] is an American politician serving as the 11th Washington State Auditor since 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Pat McCarthy
11th Auditor of Washington
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2017
Governor	Jay Inslee Bob Ferguson
Preceded by	Troy Kelley
5th Pierce County Executive
In office January 1, 2009 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	John Ladenburg
Succeeded by	Bruce Dammeier
Personal details
Born	1952 or 1953 (age 71–72)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	John McCarthy
Children	4
Education	University of Washington Tacoma (BA)

Early life and education

McCarthy earned her Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies from the University of Washington Tacoma in 1992.^[2]

Career

McCarthy served as the school board director for the Tacoma School District from 1987 to 1999^[3] and as the county executive of Pierce County, Washington from 2009 to 2017.^[4]

In 2016, McCarthy was elected Washington State Auditor, defeating Republican Mark Miloscia with 52% of the vote.^[5][6][7] She won reelection in 2020, receiving 58 percent of the vote against Republican Chris Leyba.^[8][9] On August 1, 2023, McCarthy announced she would be running for a third term in 2024.^[10] She was reelected again with 58% of the vote against Republican Matt Hawkins.^[11]

Personal life

Her husband, John, has served on the Port of Tacoma commission and as a judge of the Pierce County Superior Court. Their son, Conor, served on the Tacoma City Council, before resigning to become a lobbyist for Comcast.^[12][13]