Dave Sunday in the Republican primary for attorney general | Endorsement

The good news in the Republican primary race for Pennsylvania attorney general is that both candidates said President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. The bad news is they tiptoed through their respective answers during a meeting with The Inquirer Editorial Board.

Before York County District Attorney Dave Sunday said Biden won, he went on about how it matters if some voters don’t believe the election outcome — no “matter how we got here.” State Rep. Craig Williams, who represents parts of Chester and Delaware Counties, said Biden won, but added that “electioneering” occurred and that then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro failed to investigate every allegation of fraud.

It is alarming that many GOP candidates who know better still struggle to repudiate Donald Trump’s manufactured and repeated falsehoods regarding the 2020 election. The danger to democracy still looms and requires elected officials to put country before party. Trump, the Republican standard bearer, is already claiming if he loses in November then that outcome was rigged. But if he wins, never mind.

Given Trump’s past and potential future efforts to overturn elections, the next attorney general must have the moral fortitude to defend democracy and the rule of law. Pennsylvania cannot afford an attorney general who goes wobbly in the face of Trump’s intimidation tactics.

Both Sunday and Williams avoided the full MAGA rhetoric but gave cautious responses regarding Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and his four criminal indictments. On other issues, such as addiction and mental health, both candidates seemed almost progressive.

But Sunday would not concede Trump “lit the flame” that sparked the insurrection. He said the former president “could have done things that would have made that situation better and made it less violent.”

Williams said the images he saw on TV were “disgraceful” and “not a good look for our democracy.” But he added that Trump wasn’t at the U.S. Capitol during the riots, and issued a tweet urging “peaceful protests.”

As for Trump’s four criminal indictments, Williams said the cases in Georgia and New York, especially, are “more political than not,” while Sunday said he wanted to see what emerged from the trials before making a judgment.

Both Sunday and Williams were critical of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s soft-on-crime approach. But Williams, who led the House impeachment of Krasner, struck a harder line. If elected, Williams said he would investigate Krasner. Many of Krasner’s problems are self-inflicted, but efforts to impeach or investigate him are a costly and divisive waste of time.

Sunday called Krasner’s tenure a “train wreck” but said he would try to work with him. That is a more sensible approach for prosecutors who must avoid partisan politics.

Another divisive issue facing the next attorney general is abortion. Fortunately, Sunday and Williams avoided the extreme rhetoric of other state attorneys general who plan to prosecute those who help women travel to another state to get an abortion. Williams said he would not prosecute anyone who comes from another state and receives a legal abortion in Pennsylvania. Sunday said he would follow the law.

On many key issues, the candidates largely agree. Both support the death penalty and oppose legalizing marijuana. Both served in the military and have experience as prosecutors.

Williams, 58, graduated from Duke University and received his law degree from the University of Florida. He served in the Marines and was a federal prosecutor. His wife, Jennifer Arbittier Williams, was a longtime federal prosecutor and briefly served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before entering private practice.

If elected, Williams said his top priorities would be combating gun violence, fraud that targets senior citizens, and addiction largely through trauma-informed therapy.

Sunday, 48, was born in Harrisburg and spent four years in the Navy after high school. He then worked for UPS while going to college and law school at night, graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 2002 and Widener Law School in 2007.

Sunday was first elected district attorney in York County in 2017. If elected attorney general, he plans to increase access to mental health services, combat the opioid epidemic, and bolster reentry programs. During his tenure as district attorney, gun violence in York has decreased dramatically.

Overall, Sunday has the strongest track record, the most forward-thinking policy proposals, and a demeanor that suggests he is amenable to bipartisanship. The Inquirer endorses Dave Sunday in the Republican primary for attorney general.