Democrats are responding with fury and Republicans with delight to Pat Dugan’s announcement that he’ll change events and run as a Republican within the November election for District Lawyer.
Dugan, a retired municipal decide, misplaced the Could Democratic main to incumbent Larry Krasner by a 29-point margin, or nearly 44,000 votes.
There was no Republican candidate, however the town GOP mobilized to encourage its members to jot down Dugan in on their main ballots. He obtained greater than 6,100 votes, effectively above the 1,000 wanted to make him the Republican nominee.
Dugan’s marketing campaign had beforehand pledged he wouldn’t run as a Republican, however after the first he noticeably avoided dropping out of the race. On Saturday, he introduced he was abandoning his promise to stay with the Democratic social gathering.
“I can’t stand by and permit Mr. Krasner’s failed insurance policies to proceed to carry our metropolis hostage,” he stated. “Each Philadelphian has an actual selection this fall, and I imagine they are going to stand with me for widespread sense and security.”
Democrats have been fast to name Dugan a liar for his earlier pledges to not change events, echoing language that Krasner has usually used throughout the marketing campaign.
“Pat Dugan promised me, and our social gathering, that he wouldn’t run as a Republican on this fall’s election. That was clearly a lie,” Philadelphia Democratic Celebration chair Bob Brady wrote in an e mail to ward leaders.
“Pat Dugan’s determination to run as a Republican is disgraceful. His acceptance of the Republican nomination is a betrayal to the Democratic Celebration and the individuals of Philadelphia. His ego has allowed him for use as a pawn by the Republican Celebration, an try and divide our sturdy and rising Democratic Celebration. Pat Dugan is, in each sense of the phrase, a sore loser,” Brady wrote.
In the meantime, Republican social gathering stalwarts who despise Krasner stated they have been happy to see he’ll face a GOP challenger this fall.
“Firing Larry Krasner has all the time been a high precedence for me and for Northeast Philadelphia. Pat Dugan is a confirmed chief who will put victims earlier than politics, implement the regulation pretty, and make our streets secure once more,” state Sen. Joe Picozzi stated.
“Philadelphians will lastly have an actual selection between somebody dedicated to defending our residents and our metropolis versus Larry Krasner, who’s a confirmed advocate for the very criminals he’s alleged to prosecute,” Philly GOP chair Vince Fenerty stated.
Dugan didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Krasner declined to remark.
A giant gap to fill
Dugan should do considerably higher than he did within the main to realize an upset win.
For instance, if each he and Krasner get all the identical votes (Democratic and Republican) they obtained in Could, Dugan would then want roughly one other 38,000 to come back out on high.
Greater turnout might lead to extra votes for both or each candidates, however it’s unclear if extra individuals will go to the polls in November. Solely 16.6% of eligible voters forged main ballots this yr.
Within the final DA contest in 2021, turnout inched up solely barely between the 2 elections, from slightly over 21% to not fairly 22%, a distinction of some 5,400 voters. The election 4 years in the past included a state Supreme Courtroom race, which drove voter curiosity and get-out-the-vote efforts. There’s no such contest this yr.
As well as, Dugan is prone to lose lots of his Democratic votes, creating a good greater gap for him to backfill.
He might additionally lose endorsements he obtained from elected officers like Councilman Mike Driscoll and state Sen. Tina Tartaglione, and from influential Democratic-aligned labor organizations such because the Philadelphia Constructing Trades Council, the IBEW 98 electrical employees union, and unions representing SEPTA workers and firefighters.
Whereas Brady and different Democratic social gathering officers have usually been at odds with the outspokenly progressive Krasner — they made no DA endorsement this yr or in 2021, breaking from a convention of supporting Democratic incumbents — the social gathering chief signaled that doesn’t matter any extra, on condition that Dugan is defecting to the opposite aspect.
“As a Democratic ward chief, I’ll do every part in my energy to re-elect our Democratic nominee, Larry Krasner, as Philadelphia’s District Lawyer,” Brady wrote. “As chairman of this Democratic Celebration, it’s my accountability and responsibility beneath our social gathering guidelines to carry my fellow ward leaders to the identical.”
“Democratic nominees right here within the metropolis of Philadelphia get pleasure from the total system of sources our social gathering infrastructure brings. As a celebration, we’ll stand collectively, reject dishonesty, and ship victory in November to our DEMOCRATS,” he stated.
On the identical time, whereas Republicans are broadly outnumbered on the town’s voter registration rolls, the town social gathering seems poised to place some sources behind Dugan’s marketing campaign, in an effort to oust Krasner.
Fenerty famous that in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, progressive prosecutor candidates have misplaced to centrists in recent times. Specifically, after Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala misplaced his main two years in the past, he switched to the Republican social gathering and gained reelection.
“Philadelphia can and can do the identical this November by supporting the commonsense, bipartisan strategy to public security and justice that Choose Dugan will convey to the desk as District Lawyer,” Fenerty stated.
The Allegheny County race differed from Philly’s in quite a few methods, nevertheless. Not like Dugan, Zappala was a well known incumbent, having already held the place for greater than twenty years. He additionally misplaced the first by a narrower margin, 11 factors, earlier than coming again and successful the final election.