Philadelphia district attorney rematch? Despite losing primary, Pat Dugan could challenge Larry Krasner as a Republican in November

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Democratic primary voters could choose between Pat Dugan and Larry Krasner for Philadelphia’s district attorney race. For the Republican primary, there were no candidates, but that didn’t stop more than 6,600 Republican voters in the city from writing in a candidate.

It’s likely that many of them wrote in the name of the loser of the Democratic primary, former judge Pat Dugan. That’s because city GOP leaders made a dedicated effort to make Dugan eligible for a rematch in November. If 1,000 voters cast write-in votes for Dugan, he could run as a Republican this fall.

GOP leaders are confident their plan was a success. Vince Fenerty said the results far surpassed expectations.

“It’s something to be very proud of in a primary election. This was a very, very low turnout, and our Republican voters could see that this was an alternative way to help get rid of Larry Krasner,” he told WHYY News.

Fenerty said the technique has been used successfully in the past in Pennsylvania. Current Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zapalla lost the 2023 Democratic primary, but got nearly 10,000 write-in votes on the GOP ticket.

“District Attorney Zappala of Allegheny County did lose the primary,” Fenerty said. “He was nominated by the Republicans, came back and beat the gentleman in November who beat him in the primary, and Steve is still the district attorney of Allegheny County.”

With 99% of the vote tallied by midday Wednesday, Krasner leads Dugan by more than 37,000 votes. But voter turnout for the Democratic and Republican primaries was a paltry 15%. Turnout on both sides of the aisle will likely be higher in November with Republicans looking to overturn the Democrats’ majority on the state Supreme Court in an unusually aggressive campaign.

Sources within the Dugan campaign said they are considering the GOP’s offer to run as a Republican in November. Fenerty said he hopes Dugan will sit down with his family and advisors and make the right choice.

For most elections in Philadelphia, Republican candidates serve mainly as a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered by Democrats, who hold a roughly 7-to-1 voting margin. If Dugan were to switch parties and run, he’d enter the November race as a well-financed player who has been gaining more name recognition by the day.