Philly Dems opt not to endorse in District Attorney race
Philadelphia’s Democratic ward leaders voted last night to not endorse a candidate in this year’s contest for District Attorney, turning their back on current office holder Larry Krasner.
It is the second time in four years that the group has opted to rebuff the progressive incumbent and the second consecutive time that the ward leaders have stayed out of the endorsement game after not backing a candidate in the 2023 race for mayor.
The party will have an open primary between Krasner and challenger Patrick Dugan. Each of the 66 individual wards and their leaders will be able to make endorsements for the candidate of their choosing. Sample ballots handed out at each polling place could have an “X” for either candidate or they could be left blank.
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chair of the Democratic City Committee, said that the group’s Policy Committee was split on an endorsement and he hopes that the decision allows for individual ward leaders to make decisions that are best for their own neighborhoods.
Krasner, who has not formally announced a bid for a third term, has been under fire for his progressive views. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the decision is an indication that party leaders are resistant to progressives and “hellbent 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,” he said, adding that the non-endorsement “makes little difference in terms of my candidacy.”
In 2021, the Democrats also decided not to endorse when Krasner ran for reelection. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives impeached him in 2022, but the state’s Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that state lawmakers had improperly attempted to stretch that process across two different legislative sessions.
Dugan, a former municipal court judge, has the backing of the influential Philadelphia Building Trades & Construction Council. And as a judge, he already has established relationships with those leaders, as well as those leading the wards.
In a statement, Dugan told the Inquirer that he’s “grateful to the Democratic City Committee for the opportunity to give voters a real choice on public safety with our next district attorney.”
Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA.
This article was originally published in PoliticsPA.