Trump, Elon Musk, and Philly unions are the wild cards in this year’s DA race

With hundreds of thousands of dollars raised and endorsements given and denied, the race to be Philadelphia’s top prosecutor is fully underway.

District Attorney Larry Krasner made his bid for reelection official this week, seeking his third term in office and vying for the Democratic nomination ahead of the May 20 primary. And Patrick Dugan, a former Municipal Court judge, is positioning himself as a more moderate Democratic alternative to the progressive Krasner.

The race is one of the marquee political contests in Pennsylvania this year and is pitting some of the city’s most influential groups against one another. Here are six things to watch as the campaigns heat up.

It’s the million — or maybe 5 million — dollar question looming over the race: Where’s the money coming from?

Typically, local elections in off years are low turnout, and far less money is spent on advertising. That means incumbents like Krasner have a big advantage: in his case, the name recognition that comes with being in office for the last eight years.

It also means that anyone could have a big impact by spending money on TV commercials. That worked in Krasner’s favor in 2017 when liberal billionaire George Soros poured $1.4 million into ads boosting his candidacy.

» READ MORE: Elon Musk may charge his America PAC with targeting Larry Krasner and other progressive DAs

The question is whether a Krasner opponent tries to do the opposite.

All eyes are on Elon Musk, the adviser to President Donald Trump who dumped $250 million into the presidential campaign through his super PAC. Musk, the world’s richest man, has said he may use his fortune to target progressive prosecutors backed by Soros.

There’s no indication Musk is involved in this race, but there’s plenty of time before the May 20 primary. In 2017, Soros’ side didn’t fund ads until the final few weeks of the campaign. Ditto for the 2023 mayor’s race, when GOP megadonor Jeffrey Yass funded last-minute negative ads opposing the most progressive candidate.

Krasner’s camp doesn’t think Musk’s targeting him would be all bad. That way, Krasner could frame himself as an opponent of the Republican billionaire, who is currently dismantling parts of the federal government. Don’t forget: This is a Democratic primary.

Running against the president is a time-honored political tradition, even for local candidates. It’s no surprise that Krasner, a longtime critic of Trump, is presenting himself as not just a prosecutor, but a defender of American democracy.

» READ MORE: Philly DA Larry Krasner tries to harness Democratic rage toward Trump as he launches his third bid for office

The question is how that plays with primary voters in a race that is traditionally low turnout. It’s good timing for Krasner, who is campaigning as Trump pushes the boundaries of his legal authority, upends long-standing foreign policy, and slashes the federal workforce. Krasner may be able to drive turnout by harnessing the left’s intense frustration with Trump.

On the other hand, Philadelphians may want to see more of a focus on, well, Philadelphia. Dugan is betting that a hyperlocal approach is more appealing to the type of super-engaged voter who casts a ballot in an off year.

Several big-city progressive district attorneys who favor criminal justice reform have been ousted or have stepped aside in recent years following a pandemic-era crime wave across the country. Voters in San Francisco recalled Chesa Boudin, Chicago’s Kim Foxx didn’t seek reelection, and George Gascón was voted out in Los Angeles.

But Krasner survived, winning his last election by a landslide in 2021, even when the homicide rate in Philadelphia was at a record level. He faces a much more favorable environment this time around — the city last year saw a dramatic reduction in shootings and fewer killings than in decades.

Krasner has also signaled he knows his vulnerabilities. He faced scrutiny for years over a 2018 retail theft policy that mandated offenders be issued low-level citations if the stolen goods were valued at less than $500. But Krasner shelved that policy, and last year instituted a new task force to combat retail theft.

» READ MORE: Retail theft arrests have nearly tripled this year as Philly police, DA Krasner overhaul approach to tackling the crime

Also last year, Krasner announced a new unit to target people who repeatedly violate gun possession laws. That came after he was criticized for overseeing a drop in convictions of people accused of illegally carrying guns.

Ward leaders thought they were seeing a new Krasner. When the district attorney sought the party’s endorsement this year, he avoided clashing with the leadership of the Democratic City Committee he had criticized in the past as out of touch.

“He was apologetic at times,” said longtime party chair Bob Brady.

But the kumbaya didn’t last. Ward leaders still voted for the second time in four years to hold an open primary, meaning the party would not endorse Krasner despite typically backing Democratic incumbents. Instead, leaders of the city’s 66 individual wards will choose if they want to endorse Krasner, Dugan, or no one.

» READ MORE: What to know about Bob Brady and Philly’s ward system

Krasner said after the vote that it was an indication that party leaders are resistant to progressives and “hell-bent on not growing the Democratic base.” Brady said the district attorney was being a “sore loser.”

While Dugan will likely win support in some wards, Krasner won handily without the city committee’s endorsement four years ago and has the backing of plenty of party leaders. Those include some of the city’s most influential Black elected officials, like City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and longtime State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams.

Another big question is who wins the endorsement of the leader of the 50th Ward: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

The mayor hails from the vaunted political coalition based in the city’s Northwest, home to some of the city’s highest-turnout wards. The Northwest Coalition, led by Parker’s mentor, former Councilmember Marian Tasco, helped lift Krasner to office for the first time in 2017.

Parker ran for mayor two years ago with a tough-on-crime tone, but she was careful not to criticize Krasner. Since she took office more than a year ago, Parker has made a point to appear alongside the district attorney after major crime incidents, and they have projected a united front.

But Dugan is clearly jockeying for some of Parker’s supporters. He is backed by the Philadelphia Building Trades and Construction Council, which helped the mayor win in 2023. And Dugan conspicuously used Parker’s campaign slogan recently, saying in a news release this month that he wants a “safer, greener, cleaner Philadelphia.” (Parker usually says “safer, cleaner, greener,” in that order.)

Parker has been mum on the race so far. We’ll see if that lasts.

Speaking of the building trades: The politically influential and deep-pocketed umbrella organization of 30 unions is dumping money into Dugan’s run (aside from one local that is supporting Krasner). Ryan Boyer and Wayne Miller, the top two leaders of the building trades, are chairing Dugan’s campaign.

It’s a bit of a political risk for the building trades, which did not endorse either candidate in the district attorney’s race in 2021. Dugan is not as well known as Krasner.

» READ MORE: The 2025 Philly DA race is underway as ex-Judge Patrick Dugan launches bid to oust Larry Krasner

But with risk comes reward. If Dugan prevails, it would be seen as a major win for the building trades and would represent the second time in three years that the group helped install its preferred candidate in a major citywide election.

One union that has been silent so far is the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, which represents current and retired Philadelphia police officers. The group backed Krasner’s challenger in 2021 and its former leader, John McNesby, was one of the district attorney’s chief opponents, often slamming him in public. Krasner’s win that year was a massive political blow to the FOP.

But the union has a new leader: Roosevelt Poplar, whom Krasner has praised. Poplar has not said much about Krasner publicly, and it’s not clear if the police union will even make an endorsement this time around.