Philly DA race devolves over debate schedule as incumbent Krasner declines live TV event
Incumbent Larry Krasner is only agreeing to debate on WHYY, but his challenger, Patrick Dugan, wants a live debate on network TV.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and his Democratic primary challenger Patrick Dugan have been throwing barbs at one another for months, and this week, the sparring is about how — and if — they’ll meet on stage for a televised debate.
By Thursday afternoon, the debate over debates had devolved into name-calling, with Dugan’s campaign accusing Krasner of political gamesmanship, while a spokesperson for Krasner’s side said Dugan is engaging in “the antics of a losing campaign.”
The dustup has been brewing for weeks as the candidates were invited to participate in several televised debates and forums ahead of the May 20 primary election: a live debate on CBS3, a taped forum hosted by Fox 29, and a livestreamed forum on WHYY, an NPR affiliate.
Dugan was ready to do all three. But Krasner on Thursday said he’d only appear on WHYY on April 22.
That prompted Dugan to issue an ultimatum: Debate me three times or don’t debate me at all.
In a Thursday email to Krasner’s campaign and multiple debate organizers, Dugan’s campaign manager, Daniel Kalai, wrote that his candidate will only participate in the WHYY forum if Krasner also agrees to the CBS3 and Fox29 events.
He wrote that the campaign committed more than a month ago to the live CBS debate on April 24 “because it is important to give MILLIONS OF VOTERS every opportunity to hear directly from the candidates to make an informed decision in the spirit of DEMOCRACY.”
Kalai added that Krasner has turned down other opportunities to appear in front of voters, writing: “What is Larry afraid [of]? Ball is in your court.”
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Anthony Campisi, a spokesperson for Krasner’s campaign, said the campaign decided this week to participate only in the WHYY forum after weighing several factors, including Krasner’s schedule and the debate formats.
He said voters will have “many opportunities” to hear from both candidates, including through community forums and events, and that Dugan’s camp was manufacturing a “fake controversy.”
“If they decide to pull out of the WHYY event, then they will be depriving Philadelphians of an opportunity to hear from the candidates,” Campisi said. “These are the antics of a losing campaign with a failing message.”
Sparring over debates is a time-honored political tradition. Challengers often seek to schedule more debates as a way to reach voters, while televised events are riskier for incumbents, who have a built-in name recognition advantage and less to gain from appearing on TV.
When Krasner ran for reelection four years ago, he debated then-challenger Carlos Vega once in a televised debate on NBC10. He declined to debate his Republican challenger, lawyer Chuck Peruto, ahead of the general election that year, calling it a “waste of time.”
Scheduling a debate was also an issue in the 2023 mayor’s race, when then-Democratic nominee Cherelle L. Parker was noncommittal about appearing on stage alongside Republican nominee David Oh, who wanted to debate 10 times.
Parker eventually agreed to debate Oh — once.