For the first time in decades, no Republican will be on the ballot for Philadelphia district attorney.
This comes despite strong opposition to the current DA, Larry Krasner, from Republican leaders who have criticized his policies on crime and prosecution.
In past elections, the party always managed to put up a candidate, even when victory seemed unlikely.
This year, that didn’t happen.
Republicans have been vocal in their opposition to Krasner, particularly during the city’s surge in gun violence during the pandemic.
In 2022, GOP lawmakers in Harrisburg attempted to impeach him, blaming his approach to criminal justice reform for making Philadelphia less safe.
Although the effort failed, it showed how strongly Republicans wanted him removed.
Now, as he seeks a third term, they have no one to challenge him.
Philadelphia’s Republican Party made several attempts to recruit a candidate.
Matthew Wolfe, a GOP attorney and ward leader, said they reached out to Republican lawyers and even posted online, asking if anyone was willing to run.
Party chair Vincent Fenerty personally called “every Republican lawyer with a pulse.”
Despite their efforts, no one stepped forward.
The lack of a candidate is largely due to Philadelphia’s strong Democratic majority.
There are about 130,000 registered Republicans in the city, compared to nearly 800,000 Democrats.
The numbers make winning citywide races extremely difficult.
In 2021, Republican attorney Chuck Peruto ran against Krasner and lost by 44 percentage points.
After the election, when asked what he would have done differently, he said he wouldn’t have run at all.
The overwhelming loss discouraged future candidates, and this year, the GOP couldn’t find anyone willing to take on the challenge.
Running for district attorney requires months of effort, raising money, and convincing voters.
Given the Democratic majority, many Republicans saw it as a losing battle.
Fenerty admitted that potential candidates didn’t want to spend ten months campaigning for an election they had little chance of winning.
Even without a Republican in the race, Krasner is not running unopposed.
He faces a primary challenge from Democrat Patrick Dugan, a former Municipal Court judge.
Dugan has strong backing from major labor unions and raised more money than Krasner last year.
He is running as a more moderate alternative, appealing to voters who may support criminal justice reform but disagree with Krasner’s approach.
While Fenerty cannot officially endorse a Democrat due to party rules, he spoke favorably about Dugan, calling him an honest and fair judge.
Some Republicans may quietly support Dugan in hopes of defeating Krasner in the primary, but there is no organized GOP effort behind his campaign.
The fact that no Republican is running for DA shows the struggle in Philadelphia politics.
The city has not elected a Republican mayor under its current system, which was established in the 1950s.
However, there have been Republican district attorneys in the past.
Ronald D. Castille served from 1986 to 1991 before becoming a state Supreme Court justice.
Arlen Specter held the position for two terms starting in 1966 before serving three decades in the U.S. Senate.
In recent years, Republican candidates have struggled in citywide races.
In 2017, Krasner defeated Republican Beth Grossman in a landslide.
The same pattern repeated in 2021 when Peruto lost by an even larger margin.
The defeats make it hard for the party to attract candidates and raise money.
Even getting enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot is a challenge.
But the GOP is still running candidates in other races.
The party is supporting Ari Patrinos for city controller, showing they are not completely abandoning citywide elections.
There have also been rare Republican victories, such as in 2023 when Joe Picozzi won a state Senate seat in Northeast Philadelphia—the first Republican to do so in two decades.
Former mayoral candidate Sam Katz believes not running a candidate for DA is a mistake.
He argues that even if winning is unlikely, running gives candidates valuable experience, as it teaches them how to raise money, connect with voters, and prepare for future races.
