Some Democrats are keeping their distance from Larry Krasner as Republicans make him their election boogeyman

It seemed extraordinary to see them line up against him — dozens of elected Democrats from every corner of Pennsylvania voting with Republicans to hold Larry Krasner, a prosecutor from their own party, in contempt of the state House.

They included nine representatives from Philadelphia, the city where Krasner has twice won citywide elections, including in a landslide last year. And they included a Western Pennsylvania representative who happens to be the running mate of the party’s nominee for governor.

The vote was unusual. But in some ways, it was just a new twist on an old dynamic: The progressive Krasner has never had the full-throated backing of the Democratic establishment. And the GOP effort to impeach him in an election year forced legislative Democrats to take a position.

Though they might not support removing Krasner from office, some moderates voted with Republicans to chastise him for refusing to comply with a subpoena. Progressives, meanwhile, are steadfastly standing by their guy, calling efforts to remove him a ploy to overturn the will of Philadelphia voters and an attempt at reversing needed reforms.

And one of the standard-bearers for the party, Josh Shapiro, the state attorney general and gubernatorial nominee, is keeping his distance as Republicans have tried to define the November midterms by rising rates of gun violence in Philadelphia and other big cities.

» READ MORE: Mehmet Oz visits Philadelphia as he tries to keep the midterm message on crime

The alignment was perhaps foreseeable for Krasner, a trial attorney and tell-it-like-it-is liberal who has a reputation for being uninterested in the sort of chumminess or politicking that builds relationships and wins allies.

“Sometimes in Harrisburg, you gotta put icing on the cake if you want people to eat it,” said State Sen. Sharif Street, the chair of the state party and a supporter of Krasner. “He serves his cake without icing.”

What’s still unclear is how the party lines up next. The committee investigating Krasner’s office has a hearing set for next week in Philadelphia, and any impeachment trial would be held in the state Senate, where a two-thirds majority would be required to remove him.

In the current makeup of the Senate, removal would take every Republican, the lone independent, and five Democrats.

In the House, none of the Philadelphia Democrats who voted in favor of holding Krasner in contempt had been vocal supporters. At least two — Reps. Kevin Boyle and Ed Neilson — endorsed his opponent in the primary last year. Two others, Reps. Amen Brown and Danilo Burgos, sit on the committee investigating Krasner’s office.

(Rep. Darisha Parker initially voted “yes” on the measure, but she said that was a recording error. She placed her “no” vote on the record with the House Parliamentarian this week.)

Rep. Jared Solomon, a Democrat who represents parts of Northeast Philadelphia, voted against the formation of the committee but in favor of holding Krasner in contempt, saying, “When you get a subpoena, you respond to it.”

Beyond the legal issues, Solomon said he and others in Harrisburg are frustrated with Krasner’s “score-settling” style.

“People on both sides can do more together,” he said. “His sort of go-it-alone strategy does not really advance the cause of criminal justice reform.”

» READ MORE: Philly DA Larry Krasner provides some records to the state House committee investigating him

During a defiant news conference at his Center City office Monday, Krasner suggested some of the Democrats who voted to hold him in contempt were “uninformed” amid a rushed decision. He said others acted on “what they perceive to be the short-term political consequences.”

It was the second time in a week he had lined up supporters to rally with him.

Last week, a handful of Philadelphia Democrats and clergy members appeared at Mother Bethel AME Church, with State Sen. Vincent Hughes calling the Republican-led impeachment effort “flatly wrong.” And Helen Gym, a progressive City Council member said to be considering a run for mayor next year, said “shame on any Democrat” who voted alongside the GOP.

Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Abolitionist Law Center and a longtime Krasner supporter, said in an interview that Krasner operates outside the city’s Democratic machine, so some intraparty squabbling is to be expected.

“What is not expected,” he said, “is those same Democrats partnering with Republicans who are launching an assault on democracy.”

Krasner isn’t up for election until 2025, but if you live in Pennsylvania and consume political advertising in one way or another, you would be excused for not realizing that.

He is a favorite foil of Pennsylvania Republicans, some of whom made him the boogeyman of their unsuccessful primary campaigns for governor. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre) floated impeachment in January, and Bill McSwain, the former U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, has often placed blame for Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis on Krasner.

For months, the GOP and its allies have tried to tie Democrats at the top of the ticket to Krasner, running ads that link Shapiro’s record as a law enforcement official with crime in Philadelphia.

But the alliance between the progressive left in Philadelphia and Democratic establishment types across the rest of the state has long been uneasy. Krasner and Shapiro are a striking example of that dynamic.

Politically, they have different styles. From a policy perspective, they have entirely different philosophies.

Shapiro is running for governor on a platform to hire 2,000 more police officers, and Krasner is a former civil rights attorney known for suing the Philadelphia Police Department. Shapiro has touted his endorsement from the union that represents Philadelphia police officers, and Krasner is the union’s top political foe.

» READ MORE: From 2021: Philly cops went all out to try to defeat Larry Krasner

Krasner’s office last year sued Shapiro’s over a national opioid settlement. And the district attorney once said his staffers jokingly called prosecutors who left his office “war criminals,” and said those who decamped to work for Shapiro’s office had gone to Paraguay, a reference to one of the South American countries where Nazis took refuge after World War II.

The rift was evidenced again last week when State Rep. Austin Davis, Shapiro’s running mate and the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, voted with the GOP to hold Krasner in contempt.

In an interview with ABC 27, Davis said he voted for the contempt resolution because “you have to respond to a subpoena.”

But he also signaled that supporting an effort to remove the district attorney is a different matter.

“We’ll have to see how things play out over the next few months,” Davis said. “But I would lean heavily against disenfranchising voters of Philadelphia from choosing their elected leaders.”