Philadelphia election results: Krasner secures democratic primary win over Pat Dugan in DA race
District Attorney Larry Krasner defeated Pat Dugan in Philadelphia's democratic primary election on Tuesday night.
Krasner credited declining homicide numbers in Philadelphia and criminal justice reform for earning a third primary win.
Republicans did not back a candidate in the primary election.
PHILADELPHIA - Incumbent Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner won the democratic primary election on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
Krasner, 64, defeated former Philadelphia municipal judge and military veteran Patrick Dugan on the democratic ticket.
A win for Krasner all but ensures his third term after Philadelphia Republicans failed to throw their support behind a candidate for the first time in decades.
What we know
Larry Krasner is poised for his third term as Philadelphia's District Attorney, defeating democratic challenger and former city judge Patrick Dugan.
The Associated Press called the race for Krasner with 60% of the vote with 38% reported after polls closed in Philadelphia at 8 p.m.
Philadelphia Republicans failed to back a candidate for the first time in decades, which all but ensures Krasner will remain the city's top prosecutor.
Dugan, a former municipal judge and military veteran, was considered to be the toughest competition Krasner has opposed in the two previous election cycles.
What they're saying
Krasner spoke to reporters in Center City on election night and all but claimed victory for the third time after the Associated Press called the race.
"I think in Kansas City they would like to call it a threepeat," said Krasner, giving a nod to the Eagles Super Bowl win. "But in Philly, we do call it a threepeat!"
Krasner praised donors that were "much smaller than the other side," claiming that his campaign's total donations were 1/5 of those that Dugan received.
"You can not just buy elections," Krasner said.
Often criticized for being soft on crime, Krasner touted declining homicide numbers in Philadelphia as a sign that his work as the city's top prosecutor is working.
"We have learned justice makes us safer," Krasner said. "That's actually how it goes when you try to do things with integrity, when you still accept that science applies in this world, when you believe in the potential of individuals to change or to avoid crime in the first place."
While no Republican appeared on Tuesday's ballot, Krasner shared a message for any would-be challenger who emerges before Election Day.
"If it should turn out that I have a Republican opponent…I have a question for that opponent and his rich friends from far away, and that question is: Which part don't you like? The safety or the fairness," Krasner said.
The other side
Dugan spoke to supporters briefly on Tuesday night and did not concede the election.
"I feel optimistic," Dugan said. "I feel confident we did everything we possibly could to bring a new vision to the district attorney's office of Philadelphia."
With his wife standing at his side, Dugan said he ran for district attorney because he believes "the city needs to be much safer than it has been."
"I care about the city as a lifelong Philadelphian," he said "I want my grandbabies to feel safe, I want the citizens of Philadelphia's children to feel safe."
Dig deeper
Philadelphia voters also cast their ballots in other municipal races:
Incumbent City Controller Christy Brady (Democrat) is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Ari Patrinos is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Judges on the Court of Common Pleas and the Municipal Court.
Candidates for the Pennsylvania Superior Court and Commonwealth Court.
Three questions also appeared on Tuesday's ballot:
Should the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to create the Office of Homeless Services Ombudsperson to assist residents experiencing homelessness, help provide fair access to essential resources, improve quality of life in the shelter system, investigate client complaints, and provide oversight and recommendations to the City's providers of homeless services?
Should the Home Rule Charter be amended to increase the minimum amount that must be appropriated for spending on Housing Trust Fund purposes in the City's operating budget each year?
Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of an independent Philadelphia Prison Community Oversight Board and Office of Prison Oversight and to further authorize City Council to determine the composition, powers and duties of the Board and Office?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
14 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is transferred to a prison camp in Texas
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas as her criminal case generates renewed public attention. The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that Maxwell had been transferred to Bryan, Texas, but did not explain the circumstances. Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, also confirmed the move but declined to discuss the reasons for it. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the disgraced financier, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She had been held at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, until her transfer to the prison camp in Texas, where other inmates include Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Jen Shah of 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.' Minimum-security federal prison camps house inmates the Bureau of Prisons considers to be the lowest security risk. Some don't even have fences. The prison camps were originally designed with low security to make operations easier and to allow inmates tasked with performing work at the prison, like landscaping and maintenance, to avoid repeatedly checking in and out of a main prison facility. Prosecutors have said Epstein's sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a pardon from President Donald Trump. They have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up her case. Maxwell's case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department's statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's base who had hoped to see proof of a government cover-up. Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts. Maxwell, meanwhile, was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and the House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with Maxwell. Her lawyers said this week that they would be open to an interview but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution. In a letter Friday to Maxwell's lawyers, Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September. Comer wrote that while Maxwell's testimony was 'vital' to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance of her testimony, as was requested by her team.
Politico
15 minutes ago
- Politico
Senate passes first funding package ahead of shutdown cliff
'It's taken a great deal of work, good faith and negotiation to get to this point,' Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine). 'Congress has a responsibility, a constitutional responsibility under Article I, for the power of the purse. We are executing that responsibility.' The package would provide almost $154 billion for military construction and veterans programs. It would send more than $27 billion to the Agriculture department and FDA. Both represent a roughly 2 percent boost over current levels. The Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Jeff Merkley, an appropriator and the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, that would bar the rescission, or clawback, of funds in the bill by the White House. Democrats are worried that the administration will send another rescissions package ahead of the fall funding deadline, which would likely implode any hopes of getting a larger funding deal. Still, Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, defended the smaller deal reached among senators, saying that the package 'rejects damaging cuts from Trump and House Republicans.' The Senate adopted by voice vote an amendment from Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Alex Padilla of California that would bar the use of any funds in the bill to reduce services provided by the Veterans Crisis Line. Senators rejected other amendments from Democrats including one that would have halted funding of the Agriculture Department reorganization and another to require a report on staffing reductions at the VA. They also rejected amendments from Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that would have made deeper cuts to the Agriculture-FDA bill. The chamber also voted 75-21 to reject a proposal from Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin that would bar lawmakers from taking credit for earmarks. It would require the funding to be revoked if a lawmaker were to ever tout their earmarks in interviews, mailings, speeches or even on the campaign trail.
New York Times
15 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Great Political Money Gap
There are many signs that the Democratic and Republican Parties are in different places. Here's one: The main Republican presidential super PAC controls almost $200 million. The main Democratic presidential super PAC is still repaying millions of dollars it accepted from someone who is now a convicted felon. Such is the state of big-dollar political fund-raising, as last night's filings with the Federal Election Commission made clear. When it comes to attracting mega-donors, Republicans are crushing Democrats. That could mean a lot more ads for conservatives than for liberals in next year's midterm elections. MAGA Inc., President Trump's super PAC, collected about $177 million in the first half of 2025, in large part from cryptocurrency interests eager to curry favor with Trump. The corresponding group for Democrats, Future Forward, had a slightly different tie to crypto: It spent the last six months disbursing $3.4 million to what is known as the FTX Recovery Trust, repaying money it had accepted during the 2022 election cycle from crypto-exchange executives like Sam Bankman-Fried. (Last year, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers.) Future Forward's cash on hand as of June 30? $2,826.08. At the same time, the Republican National Committee sits on over five times as much money as the Democratic National Committee does. The disparity doesn't end there. Republicans are also doing better down ballot. The main House G.O.P. group, the Congressional Leadership Fund, has a $10.5 million cash advantage over the corresponding Democratic group. The main Senate G.O.P. group, the Senate Leadership Fund, has a $16 million advantage over that of Senate Democrats — and that doesn't include the Democratic group's staggering $21 million in debt it retains from last fall. (These figures do not include fund-raising from allied nonprofits.) Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
