Democrat Patrick Dugan won enough GOP votes to be the Republican nominee for Philly DA, which he’s previously said he’ll decline
More than 6,000 Republicans voted for Dugan, a former judge who lost the Democratic primary to Krasner.
Democrat Patrick Dugan won the GOP nomination to be Philadelphia’s next district attorney, but he has previously said that he would not accept it.
Dugan, a former municipal judge, lost the Democratic primary to incumbent District Attorney Larry Krasner last month by double digits.
» READ MORE: How Larry Krasner won Philadelphia’s district attorney primary — again
But he earned 6,167 Republican write-in votes, six times the number needed to earn a spot on the November ballot, according to a report by the Philadelphia Office of the City Commissioners, the board that runs the city’s elections. Republicans did not field a candidate of their own to be the city’s top prosecutor.
In the weeks leading up to the May 20 primary, the Philadelphia Republican City Committee organized a write-in campaign to nominate Dugan in anticipation that he would lose the Democratic primary to Krasner. The GOP write-in campaign painted Dugan as a moderate who could oust Krasner, an outspoken progressive, in the November general election.
Dugan said before the election he would not accept the GOP nomination if he received it. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night about whether that remains the case.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Dugan has until Aug. 11 to either pay a filing fee to be the GOP nominee or withdraw from the ballot. If he does not pay the filing fee, the GOP nomination will be declared vacant.
Republicans have been hopeful that Dugan may reconsider. Party leaders have said they prefer Dugan because he is tougher on crime than Krasner.
Republicans needed 1,000 voters to write in Dugan’s name in order to nominate him. The write-in campaign greatly exceeded that goal, with Dugan receiving the lion’s share of the 7,145 GOP write-in votes in a race without a declared candidate.
Dozens of other votes were cast for what appeared to be various misspellings of Dugan’s name or incorrect first names paired with Dugan’s last name.
In an interview last month, Philadelphia Republican Party chair Vince Fenerty suggested that Dugan could prevail in November by forming a coalition of independent, Republican, and moderate Democratic voters.
On Wednesday, Fenerty said he remained hopeful Dugan would reconsider.
“Right now, to the best of my knowledge, the judge is looking at all his options,” Fenerty said.