Philly DA Larry Krasner launches re-election campaign for third term

PHILADELPHIA - Larry Krasner will once again seek re-election as District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia, running for his third term in office.

What we know:

The Democratic district attorney officially announced his bid for re-election on Tuesday, surrounded by fellow elected officials and advocates.

"Eight years ago, I stood up here talking about our ideas and visions… and what we said at that time is justice makes us safer," Krasner said. "Doing justice has made us safer, but there's another side to it as well, it has also made us freer."

Krasner then posed the question, "How safe are we?" He offered an answer by boasting that Philadelphia currently has the lowest number of homicides in at least the last 15 years.

"Last year was truly an exceptional year in Philadelphia for improving public safety. We had the largest percent reduction in homicide in Philadelphia history."

The district attorney went on to address three challenges his office will continue to improve: chronic violence in Philadelphia; the "perfect storm" surrounding homelessness, mental health and theft; and reliance on the federal government.

After launching a scathing critique of President Donald Trump, and labeling those in Washington D.C. as "haters," Krasner called on his supporters to go out and gather votes.

"We're gonna win, we're gonna win big, we're gonna do it together, we're gonna stand up together… we're gonna make sure these haters lose," he said.

In his 7 years as a progressive district attorney, Krasner has been criticized for being soft on crime, but pointing to fewer murders, he said his approach is working, and argues DA now stands for "democracy advocate" in the time of Donald Trump. 

,"I suggest we turn to each other not on each other and if we do, there are a couple of want-to-be oligarchs and a want-to-be dictator who’ll notice because there’s more of us than them," he said.

Krasner asked his supporters to rise Tuesday, but when faced with questions from reporters, he declined to answer.

The backstory:

Krasner was first elected Philadelphia's district attorney on November 7, 2017, before taking office in early 2018. He was re-elected for a second term in 2021.

During his first year in office, Krasner dropped criminal charges against those caught in possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use. This past year, he filed a lawsuit to halt Elon Musk's $1 million giveaways as part of his political organization's effort to boost Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

While receiving some praise for his changes in policies, Krasner has also been criticized for his handling of violent crime during his past two terms.

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GOP lawmakers move toward removal of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner

Pennsylvania state House Republicans are pursuing a measure to impeach Philadelphia’s Democratic district attorney.

In 2022, Pennsylvania state House Republicans introduced a measure to impeach the district attorney, 

Rep. Martina White accused Krasner of "dereliction of duty and despicable behavior" and running an office with a "staggering amount of dysfunction," claiming he was "responsible for the rise of crime across our city."

The other side:

Pat Dugan, the former President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court, announced his candidacy for Philadelphia District Attorney last month, while accepting and endorsement from the Philadelphia Building Trades, a powerful umbrella group of unions.

The Democratic candidate is expected to run against Kranser in the Primary Election on May 20, arguing for accountability. 

"You’re going to walk into a Wawa, walk into Rite Aid, you’re going to clean the shelves off, you need to be held accountable. We can’t give someone a free pass for $499, which he did for many years,"

The 17-year Municipal Court judge said he’ll be tough on guns and will better train young prosecutors.

"It looks like there’s going to be 2 people on the ballot Larry Krasner and Pat Dugan. That’s the choice. It’s a local election about our safety," he said.