Philly DA Larry Krasner’s first TV ad touts lower homicide rate and jabs ‘Trump and his billionaire buddies’

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is airing his first television advertisement with less than three weeks until primary election day, doubling down on his effort to portray himself as the city’s chief opponent of President Donald Trump.

The commercial, which was set to begin airing this week on cable networks and streaming services across the city, both touts the city’s decreasing homicide rate and aims to nationalize the local race.

“For seven years, I have stood up for Philadelphia,” Krasner says in the ad, while walking through Philadelphia neighborhoods. “Some people don’t like that. Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies, the shooting groups and the gun lobby, the old system that denied people justice for too long.”

He then repeats what has become something of a campaign slogan: “They can come for Philly, but I’m not backing down. They can F around and find out.”

The ad marks a critical moment for Krasner’s campaign ahead of the May 20 election as he tries to fend off Democratic primary challenger Patrick Dugan, a former judge. While Krasner’s campaign believes he holds a wide advantage in name recognition, Dugan has amassed support from some of the city’s most deep-pocketed labor unions and has raised significantly more money that Krasner.

That financial cushion helped Dugan to begin airing television commercials more than two weeks ago, allowing him to own the airwaves as more voters tune into the race ahead of election day. His campaign has spent more than $200,000 on television advertising thus far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Spending figures were not yet available for Krasner’s campaign.

» READ MORE: Philly DA challenger Patrick Dugan frames himself as ‘the real reformer’ in first TV ad of the campaign

Dugan’s campaign is currently running two commercials. The first introduces Dugan to voters, framing him as the “real reformer” in a subtle jab at Krasner, the progressive who is seen as a leader in the nation’s reformist prosecutor movement.

The second ad features Dugan, a more moderate Democrat, suggesting that the two-term Krasner is not the man for the moment.

“I’ve seen up close our district attorney fail to bring real reform or make us safe,” Dugan says in that ad. “Now he wants us to believe he can take on Trump? Get real.”

» READ MORE: Patrick Dugan wants to cap his military and judicial career by becoming Philly’s top prosecutor. Can he win?

The ads come as Trump’s approval ratings have sagged and elected Democrats have faced calls from voters to stand up to the administration. Trump has been a central figure in other campaigns, including the nationally watched New Jersey governor’s race.

Krasner has long been a vocal critic of Trump, and he made clear from the launch of his campaign that he intended to make the president core to his reelection bid. Krasner has said often that he is a “democracy advocate” in addition to district attorney, and has vowed to use his prosecutorial power to stand up for groups he believes are being marginalized by the administration.

The campaign’s 30-second ad features headlines about how Krasner has “protected democracy,” including a New York Times article about a lawsuit he filed against Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump adviser. It doesn’t mention that the lawsuit was later thrown out by a judge.

» READ MORE: DA Larry Krasner says Philly is ‘safer and freer’ as he seeks a third term. Will voters buy in?

The commercial also touches on local issues, opening with Krasner saying he has worked to lower crime as a headline about the city’s declining homicide rate last year flashes across the screen.

Philadelphia saw record-high levels of gun violence in recent years while Krasner was also in office, but the city in 2024 experienced its largest annual decline in homicides in at least 50 years. Lower rates of shootings and homicides have continued through this year.