Unions are fueling Patrick Dugan’s campaign for Philly DA as he far out-raises incumbent Larry Krasner

Former Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan is far outpacing District Attorney Larry Krasner in fundraising — bringing in twice as much cash — as he tries to unseat the city’s progressive top prosecutor, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

Dugan has a bevy of unions to thank for that, most notably the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, a juggernaut political power in the city that is backing his underdog campaign against Krasner, a two-term incumbent.

The campaign finance reports filed Tuesday show how support from organized labor is fueling Dugan. All told, unions gave his campaign about $217,000 this year, accounting for nearly half the overall amount he raised. Krasner’s report shows that, despite winning several union endorsements, he has not yet raised any money from organized labor.

Dugan still faces steep odds. Krasner is a national figure in the progressive prosecutor movement who has been in office for seven years, and Dugan has acknowledged that he does not have the same level of name recognition as the incumbent, especially in an off-year election when voter turnout is typically low.

But campaign cash can be used to pay for advertisements and television commercials, a key way to reach voters in the final six weeks ahead of the May 20 primary election. Dugan has significantly more money to spend on campaigning, with about $427,600 in the bank as of April 1 compared with Krasner’s $164,800. Neither candidate is running television ads yet.

In a statement, Dugan’s campaign said the support of the building trades has in the past “tipped the scales” for candidates, a nod to the group’s backing of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who was elected in 2023.

“I’m proud of the support we have garnered to make Philadelphia a safer city,” Dugan said in the statement. “I am running for District Attorney because I believe Philadelphia deserves better than Mr. Krasner has offered.”

» READ MORE: Philly labor unions are split over who they want to be district attorney

Anthony Campisi, a spokesperson for Krasner, said their campaign is “powered by ordinary people,” adding that more than 1,000 individual donors contributed an average of $200 each to elect Krasner.

“We know that working families, and not special interests and billionaires, are the backbone of our campaign,” Campisi said. “We feel confident that we will have more than enough financial resources to get Larry’s message out there and to turn out voters on Election Day.”

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

One outstanding question is whether either candidate will have help from outside interests looking to influence the race. Any infusion of outside resources could dwarf the campaigns’ spending, because independent expenditure groups, also known as super PACs, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.

Krasner, who was elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021, has in the past raised only middling amounts of money compared with his opponents. But his message made its way to voters those years in part through advertisements paid for by independent political action committees, including one funded by billionaire philanthropist and Democratic megadonor George Soros.

The incumbent prosecutor and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump has also made plenty of enemies. Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to Trump who poured millions into Pennsylvania during the presidential campaign, has suggested his America PAC may target progressives across the country.

It is not yet clear if either billionaire will get involved in the race.

In the first three months of the year, Dugan’s campaign brought in $466,600, significantly out-raising Krasner, who brought in nearly $182,000. Dugan had already entered the year with more money in his campaign’s coffers after raising about $40,000 more than Krasner did in 2024.

More than half of Dugan’s money raised over the last three months came from political action committees, the vast majority of which were affiliated with unions. (One PAC that was not affiliated with a union was the political arm of Wawa, which contributes often to political candidates and gave Dugan $3,000.)

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

Ryan Boyer, the business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and cochair of Dugan’s campaign, said he is confident the former judge can mount a serious challenge in the final six weeks with the help of organized labor and its get-out-the-vote operation.

“I won’t say it will be an easy task, but it’s very doable,” Boyer said. “We believe in our candidate and our message, and we have the resources to get his message out.”

Dugan also received contributions from some notable figures in the city’s legal and business circles, including prominent personal injury attorney Robert Mongeluzzi and workers’ compensation lawyer Samuel Pond, each of whom gave $3,700, the maximum amount allowed under the city’s campaign finance law. (Josh Kopelman, a venture capitalist and the chair emeritus of The Inquirer’s board, also gave Dugan the maximum amount.)

Several of Dugan’s donors have themselves run for office before, including Michael Untermeyer, who was a candidate for district attorney in 2017, and State Rep. Jared Solomon, a Northeast Philadelphia Democrat who has been critical of Krasner and had considered running for district attorney.

Solomon, who contributed $500 to Dugan’s campaign, is the only elected official in the city to publicly back Dugan thus far.

For his part, Krasner’s entire fundraising haul came from individual donors, and he logged more small-dollar contributions than Dugan. Less than 5% of Dugan’s money came from donors who gave $250 or less. Meanwhile, donors contributing $250 or less accounted for a quarter of Krasner’s fundraising.

Krasner’s campaign is likely to report money from PACs in its future fundraising disclosures. He has been endorsed by several labor unions that a campaign spokesperson said are likely to donate in the coming weeks.

And on Wednesday, Krasner won an expected endorsement from the progressive Working Families Party, which often contributes directly to endorsed candidates.

The group said in a news release Wednesday that it will “organize its members, supporters, and voters across the city to support Krasner.”

“The Working Families Party stands firmly behind District Attorney Larry Krasner in this race,“ Sergio Hyland, a criminal justice organizer for the Pennsylvania arm of the Working Families Party, said in a statement. “We are proud to endorse him and support his unwavering commitment to transformative criminal justice reform.”