Progressive DA Larry Krasner easily wins primary in Philadelphia on way to third term

As reported in this AP article, “Larry Krasner has won Philadelphia’s Democratic primary election Tuesday to continue serving as district attorney after withstanding an impeachment attempt and years of criticism by President Donald Trump and other Republicans.” Here is more:

Krasner’s victory all but guarantees him a third four-year term in office as the city’s top prosecutor, with no Republicans filing to run in November’s general election. The longtime civil rights lawyer defeated Pat Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was the head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court before he resigned to run….

While some of Krasner’s fellow progressive prosecutors around the country have been forced out of office, Krasner has maintained that the progressive movement remains ascendant and influential. Krasner originally ran in 2017 on a progressive platform that included opposition to the death penalty, cash bail, prosecuting minor nonviolent offenses and a culture of mass incarceration, as well as holding police accountable….

The past couple years has seen crime rates falling in Philadelphia — and elsewhere — while the city’s jail population is down by almost half in the past decade. Like some big-city Democrats, Krasner has turned toward pro-public safety messaging, saying he is serious about pursuing violent crime and touting new technologies and strategies that his office is using to solve or prevent crime. He also tried to show that he is combating quality-of-life crimes, recently announcing a new unit to prosecute illegal dumping, such as household trash, tires, construction materials and more.

As of Wednesday morning reporting, Krasner had secured just shy of 64% of the primary vote to Dugan’s 36%.