Philadelphia’s Progressive DA Larry Krasner Wins Reelection

The longtime civil rights lawyer beat challenger Pat Dugan to win the Democratic primary election, unofficial results show.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner joins immigrant rights supporters as they demonstrate during a May Day rally outside the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on May 1, 2025. Matt Rourke/AP Photo

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner fended off competition from progressive challenger Pat Dugan on May 20 to win the Democratic primary election, meaning that he will continue serving as the city’s top prosecutor for a third term, according to unofficial results published by the Philadelphia City Commissioners.

Krasner, a former civil rights lawyer, was leading Dugan, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and as the former head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, with 63 percent of the vote as of May 20, results showed.

The win effectively ensures victory for Krasner in November’s general elections, as no Republican candidate has announced plans to run for the office.

A self-identified progressive and longtime attorney, Krasner has stood up for immigration, disability support, and gay rights throughout his lengthy legal career, according to his official website.

As a lawyer, he has defended protesters at the 2000 Republican National Convention and 2016 Democratic National Convention, advocates of public school funding, opponents of the death penalty, and members of Black Lives Matter, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Dreamers, Occupy Philly, and Reclaim Philadelphia.

In his campaign in 2017, Krasner ran on a progressive platform opposing the death penalty, cash bail, the prosecution of minor nonviolent offenses, and the culture of mass incarceration.

He took office in January 2018, and since that time, crime rates in Philadelphia have declined. According to his website, the city’s murder rate is more than 25 percent lower than when he first took office.

A declining trend was seen after homicides peaked in 2021 at 562, after increasing from 315 in 2017 and 353 in 2018. There were 266 homicides in 2024.

Krasner has come under fire from Republicans.

Lawmakers from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives attempted to impeach Krasner during his second term amid concerns over the failure of his office to prosecute some crimes and enforce bail in some cases.

The state Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the articles of impeachment were null and void.

Krasner’s Campaign Promises

In campaigning for a third term in office, Krasner vowed to end overly punitive sentences and cash bail, stop wrongful convictions, reduce what he describes as racial disparities throughout the justice system, and increase justice for juveniles.

Additionally, he pledged to ensure that all immigrants are treated equally amid a Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigration, and said he would push for public health solutions to gun violence.

Dugan’s campaign promised to ensure that high-priority offenders are identified and prosecuted aggressively through crime mapping and local intelligence, and to fully staff the DA’s office to help manage the caseload more efficiently and effectively.

He also vowed to restructure the DA’s office into six divisions, with each one focused on a specific region of the city and led by a senior prosecutor responsible for justice in his or her area. Under that plan, senior prosecutors would have been held accountable for criminal justice outcomes in their divisions.

In a victory speech late on May 20, Krasner thanked his family, his campaign team, and the voters for their support, noting that work on his reelection campaign started when he first took office in January 2018.

His victory, he said, was the result of lots of small-dollar donations and his willingness to defend democracy.

“There are these people who think you can buy votes that other people have earned,” Krasner told the crowd. “There are these people that think the way to win campaigns is to lie, all the time; is to ignore the truth and ignore reality; is to whip up fear; is to turn people on each other, instead of getting them to turn to each other.”

Republicans have criticized his campaign for being funded in part by progressive billionaire George Soros.

Dugan congratulated Krasner on his victory in a statement on social media.

“Although we came up short on Election Day, I’m proud of what we accomplished, and while I may not be the next district attorney, I will never stop fighting for the values we carried through this campaign,” Dugan said. “And to Larry Krasner, I offer my congratulations.

“For the sake of our neighborhoods, our families, and the soul of this city—I truly hope he succeeds.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.