PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Democratic incumbent Larry Krasner defeated former Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan in Tuesday’s battleground race, likely securing him a third term as Philadelphia District Attorney.
"I think in Kansas City, they would like to call it a 'three-peat,' but in Philly, we do call it a three-peat," Krasner said during his victory speech.
Krasner said his campaign work leading up to this win did not just start a few months ago.
"The campaign started January the first of 2018, because that is when the work started. And in a democracy, I would like to think and hope that it is the work that you do and the results you get and the way you do the job that mean a little bit more than when someone's got a little more money for television advertising... I would like to think it is about the work."
Krasner was first elected in 2017 as part of a wave of reform prosecutors backed by progressive billionaire George Soros. He ran on a platform that included holding police accountable and opposing the death penalty, cash bail, prosecuting minor nonviolent offenses, and a culture of mass incarceration.
Like some big-city Democrats, Krasner has turned toward pro-public safety messaging, maintaining that he is serious about pursuing violent crime and touting new technologies and strategies that his office is using to solve or prevent crime.
In this election, Krasner said he ran as the anti-Donald Trump. In a TV ad, he cast himself as the foil to “Trump and his billionaire buddies, the shooting groups and gun lobby, the old system that denied people justice for too long. They can come for Philly, but I’m not backing down.”
“We are in a moment in this country when there are those who are trying to destroy equality, and we are here to support it,” he said at a previous appearance. “I am here to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States, which is my fundamental oath. I am here to seek justice, and if you want to mess with that, you can F around and find out.”
Krasner was elected again in 2021 and faced impeachment charges by state Republicans a year later, who accused him of misbehavior in office. The effort ended in 2024 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled state lawmakers had improperly tried to stretch the impeachment process across two different legislative sessions.
Crime spiked after Krasner was elected nearly a decade ago, though he often downplayed statistics or pointed to other factors. However, in making his most recent reelection announcement, Krasner pointed toward improved numbers.
“Last year was a truly exceptional year. We had the largest percent reduction in homicides in Philadelphia history,” he said earlier this year. “We have the lowest number of homicides in at least the last 15 years, and that’s because I can only see 15 years [worth of stats].”
Krasner conceded the drop in homicides is part of a national trend but said Philadelphia is ahead of the curve. He said his goal for a third term would be to move Philadelphia from being chronically violent to consistently safe.
Krasner’s challenger, Dugan, is a former Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the head administrative judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court for 17 years, but resigned to run for DA.
There was no Republican candidate in Tuesday’s primary, so the winner of the Democratic race essentially guaranteed who would run the district attorney’s office for the next four years. However, if Dugan gets 1,000 write-in votes, he could run as a Republican.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.