Races for Philly district attorney and Pittsburgh mayor take center stage in Pennsylvania's primary

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Voters on Tuesday will choose new candidates to run for some of the top jobs in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with the winners of the Democratic primaries all but assured of victory in November in the two heavily Democratic cities.

In Philadelphia, Larry Krasner is seeking a third term as district attorney of the nation's sixth-most populous city.

The longtime civil rights lawyer has, at times, come under heavy criticism as a prosecutor but has thus far a survived efforts to oust him that successfully removed some other progressive district attorneys, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, the city's first Black mayor, is seeking a second term. Both are Democrats who originally ran as progressives and face a primary challenger.

To some extent, President Donald Trump looms over the races, as Krasner and Gainey have vowed to resist his conservative agenda.

Republicans will also get to weigh in Tuesday on the Pittsburgh mayor's race, though their party isn't fielding a candidate in the Philadelphia district attorney's contest. There are also two statewide courts contests on Tuesday's ballots.

Here's what to know about the contests:

Philadelphia district attorney

Krasner is running again after withstanding an impeachment attempt by Republican state lawmakers and years of being a campaign trail punching bag for Trump.

Krasner has the benefit of crime rates falling in big US cities, including Philadelphia, after they rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Krasner's primary opponent is Pat Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was the head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court before he resigned to run.

Dugan has aimed to make the race about Krasner's crime-fighting policies — he calls Krasner ''Let 'em Go Larry'' — and accused the incumbent of staffing the district attorneys' office with ill-prepared and inexperienced lawyers.

Krasner originally ran in 2017 on a progressive platform that included holding police accountable and opposing the death penalty, cash bail, prosecuting minor nonviolent offenses and a culture of mass-incarceration.

Like some big-city Democrats, Krasner has turned toward pro-public safety messaging, maintaining that he is serious about pursuing violent crime and touting new technologies and strategies that his office is using to solve or prevent crime.

Krasner has repeatedly invoked Trump and suggested that he is the best candidate to stand up to him. In a TV ad, he cast himself as the foil to ''Trump and his billionaire buddies, the shooting groups and gun lobby, the old system that denied people justice for too long. They can come for Philly, but I'm not backing down.''

Dugan has invoked Trump, too, saying in a TV ad that Philadelphia faces the threats of crime, injustice and a ''president bent on destruction.'' He also accuses Krasner of failing to deliver ''real reform or make us safe. Now he wants us to believe he can take on Trump? Get real.''

Pittsburgh mayor

Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor — the son of a former Pittsburgh mayor — are jousting over affordable housing policy, homelessness, public safety and revitalizing downtown in a city that is trying to grow after recovering from the devasting collapse of its steel industry.

Gainey, who is the city's first Black mayor and who grew up in subsidized housing, has portrayed himself as the mayor who sides with regular people and as a ''mayor that's going to fight for you'' when the Trump administration threatens the city. He also touted the city's strong economy under his watch.

O'Connor won the local party's endorsement over Gainey. He criticized Gainey's management of the city, saying Gainey was reckless with city finances, lacked vision to bring businesses back to downtown and fell badly short in expanding affordable housing. He also said people didn't feel safe in Pittsburgh.

On the Republican ballot are Thomas West and Tony Moreno. Pittsburgh has not elected a Republican as mayor in nearly a century.

Courts

Two statewide court seats are opening up, one on the Commonwealth Court and one on the Superior Court.

Democrats don't have a primary in either contest, with Washington County Judge Brandon Neuman running uncontested for Superior Court and Philadelphia Judge Stella Tsai running uncontested for Commonwealth Court.

On the Republican ticket, the Superior Court contest features Clarion County lawyer Maria Battista and Chester County Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft. The Commonwealth Court contest features Matt Wolford of Erie County, a former state and federal prosecutor, and Josh Prince of Berks County, a prominent gun rights lawyer.

The 15-member Superior Court hears appeals of civil and criminal cases from county courts. The nine-seat Commonwealth Court hears challenges or appeals from county courts in cases involving laws or government actions. Judges are elected to 10-year terms.

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Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter.