The 2025 Philly DA race is underway as ex-Judge Patrick Dugan launches bid to oust Larry Krasner

Let the 2025 election begin.

Philadelphia’s marquee election this year got underway Tuesday in a chilly Northeast Philadelphia parking lot, with longtime Judge Patrick Dugan formally announcing he’s running for district attorney, setting up a likely battle with incumbent Larry Krasner, the city’s progressive top prosecutor.

Dugan, a former municipal court judge who resigned last month, launched his campaign from the headquarters of the politically influential building trades unions. He vowed to make the city safer and said it’s time for the city to oust Krasner after two terms of advancing his criminal-justice reform agenda.

The announcement Tuesday was the opening salvo ahead of the May Democratic primary for district attorney that will likely pit the judge of 18 years against Krasner, who is expected to run for a third term but has not yet filed paperwork to officially do so. No other Democrat has launched a campaign, and several who were exploring getting in the race are no longer seeking backers, setting up what could be a head-to-head matchup between Dugan and Krasner.

Dugan characterized himself as “tough, but fair.” He said he would continue some reformist approaches to law enforcement, such as diversion programs that aim to keep nonviolent criminals out of the system.

But he was critical of Krasner’s agenda, especially the DA’s former policy of issuing summary offenses to people accused of stealing less than $500 worth of goods.

“I had a front-row seat to some of the policies that just don’t make sense to me,” Dugan said, “and I couldn’t take it any longer.”

The race comes amid declining rates of violent crime. Philadelphia experienced a skyrocketing homicide rate and a pandemic-era wave of gun violence, but consistent with other major American cities, the trend has since relented — Philadelphia last year saw its largest annual decline in homicides in at least 50 years.

Dugan argued that decline doesn’t “have anything to do with [Krasner’s] policies.”

Krasner is one of the nation’s most well-known progressive prosecutors and he has faced years of criticism for his reform agenda, including a 2022 Republican-led impeachment drive in the state House.

He declined to comment on Dugan’s candidacy, saying only: “I wish anyone who wants to run for DA a fair fight and an election with integrity, and I hope there will be a robust exchange of ideas about public safety.” Krasner also declined to say when he will announce a campaign for reelection.

Dugan, a military veteran who unsuccessfully ran for state Superior Court in 2023, said he’s confident he can lead a winning campaign, saying “I’m going to go to every community within the city of Philadelphia and build a coalition.”

Notably, he secured the endorsement of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, which is credited with playing a major role in Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s 2023 election. The group is an umbrella organization of labor unions that includes electricians, plumbers, and more.

In 2021, a handful of individual building trades unions backed Krasner’s Democratic challenger Carlos Vega, a homicide prosecutor who positioned himself as a pragmatic alternative. Several of the unions donated the maximum contribution allowed under city campaign-finance law. One key group — the Laborers District Council that’s led by Ryan Boyer — donated that year to both Vega and Krasner.

Boyer said Tuesday that Dugan is “made for the job,” saying he would not roll back progressive policies but would be a more reliable “partner” to the Police Department. He said a change in leadership at the district attorney’s office matters for his members whose livelihoods depend on growth in the city.

“We build buildings for a living. People come to where it’s safe,” he said. “Development depends on safety.”

Mark Lynch, head of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, added: “If we care about the future of this city, we’re going to put people behind bars who commit legit crimes.”

In past races, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the city’s police union, has played a major role. That was particularly true when the FOP was led by its former President John McNesby, who publicly feuded with Krasner for years. But the FOP is under new leadership — whom Krasner has praised — and the union has not yet endorsed a candidate this year.

A longtime defense attorney and civil rights activist who spent much of his career criticizing police and prosecutors, Krasner won his first bid for district attorney in 2017, prevailing over a crowded field of Democrats seeking the nomination. The primary winner is heavily favored to win any citywide election in Philadelphia, where registered Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans.

His victory that year was a watershed moment for the city’s progressive movement, and he was backed by the Northwest Coalition, an influential group of Black elected officials that includes Parker. Krasner was also boosted that year by a political action committee affiliated with billionaire George Soros, who spent $1.7 million on the race.

Four years later, Krasner — with significantly less financial backing from Soros — expanded his coalition to win reelection. He prevailed in the primary by 30 percentage points over Vega.