Philly DA primary: what to know about Larry Krasner vs. Patrick Dugan

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner could have his work cut out for him in the Democratic primary. 

Just days after former Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan announced his candidacy, along with an endorsement from the inflluential ​​Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, Philadelphia’s Democratic Party opted to not endorse a candidate in this year’s race to be the city’s top prosecutor. 

This is the second time that the city party, which typically endorses incumbents, didn’t have the votes to give the nod to Krasner, a progressive prosecutor often pulled into national politics,. Instead, the party will likely have an open primary that lets the 66 individual wards and their leaders make endorsements. 

Krasner, who has not officially announced his reelection campaign but interviewed with ward leaders for the endorsement last week, told the Philadelphia Inquirer the lack of endorsement is an indication that Democratic leaders are resistant to progressives and “hell-bent on not growing the Democratic base.”

“This is just one more sign that the rusty parts of the political machine are unwilling to be replaced by shiny ones,” Krasner said, adding that the non-endorsement “makes little difference in terms of my candidacy.”

As for his opponent, Dugan resigned from his position as a judge on the Philadelphia Municipal Court last month and has tried to promote himself as a tougher-on-crime candidate.

Announcing his candidacy with the trade unions, Dugan blamed Krasner’s office – which changed a policy so that thefts under $500 are no longer treated as lower-level offenses – for allowing retail theft and other minor crimes. 

Each candidate will attempt to paint a different picture of the city, with Krasner likely to boast about declining homicide and violent crime rates, while Dugan could hone in on public sentiment that the city doesn’t feel safe. 

“Wawas are closing. They’re closing in Center City,” Dugan said when announcing his candidacy on Jan. 15. “We can have all the politically correct reasons for why it’s happening and all that. But the reality of it is it’s because they couldn’t control the retail theft.”

According to city statistics, the number of reported retail thefts saw a significant increase in 2024 compared to 2023, while the city had 269 homicides, the fewest recorded murders in a decade. 

Dugan, who unsuccessfully ran for judge of the Pennsylvania Superior County in 2023, will lean on his trade union backers as he attempts to unseat the two-term incumbent. 

Ryan Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said Krasner is not a “partner” with the city and that a candidate like Dugan is needed to keep the city going in the right direction. 

“In these times like this, Philadelphia is on an upswing. You have murders are down, crime is down,” Boyer said. “And it could be down more if we had a partner.”