Lawrence Krasner

Lawrence Krasner (Democratic Party) is the Philadelphia District Attorney in Pennsylvania. He assumed office on January 1, 2018. His current term ends on January 5, 2026.

Krasner (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for Philadelphia District Attorney in Pennsylvania. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. He advanced from the Democratic primary on May 20, 2025.

Biography

Krasner earned his J.D. from Stanford University Law School. He practices law with Krasner & Long, LLC. Krasner previously worked as a public defender for six years.^[1]

2025 battleground election

See also: Philadelphia District Attorney election, 2025

Ballotpedia identified the November 4 general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election here Incumbent Lawrence Krasner (D) and Patrick F. Dugan (R) are running in the general election for Philadelphia district attorney on November 4, 2025.

Krasner defeated Dugan 64% to 36% in the Democratic primary on May 20.^[2]^[3] Dugan also won the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate and announced on August 9 that he would run as the Republican nominee.^[4]

Krasner was first elected in 2017. Krasner is campaigning on his record in office, saying in an interview, "I'm running on my record of making Philadelphia safer while also creating a more fair criminal justice system and tackling mass incarceration."^[5] His campaign website says he will "Expand diversion opportunities for those charged with felony offenses where addressing trauma, mental illness, or substance use will seriously mitigate the likelihood of future violence and crime."^[6] Krasner has also campaigned on his opposition to President Donald Trump's (R) administration, and his campaign website says that he would "protect our freedoms by standing up to Donald Trump and his billionaire friends and ensure that everyone is held accountable under the law."^[7]

Dugan is a former judge on the Philadelphia Municipal Court. His campaign website says he would expand criminal prosecution "with a focus on detention, diversion, and deterrence to drastically reduce repeat offenders in violent crimes."^[8] Dugan says that he is running in the general election to give voters a choice and that turnout in the general election is more reflective of the city: "In the primary, you have to be a Democrat to vote... I think everybody should have an opportunity to vote... It’s a wider pool of voters, and I think Philadelphians deserve an opportunity to actually have a race."^[9] Although appearing on the ballot as a Republican, Dugan says he is not running as a partisan candidate, and described himself as "running as an independent Democrat... I’m running for every single person in the city."^[10]

Observers have compared Dugan's campaign to that of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala (D), who, in 2023, lost his primary but won re-election on the Republican ballot line. According to Northeast Times' Tom Waring, "Republicans and other supporters of Dugan hope to replicate a somewhat-similar situation that happened in Allegheny County... moderate Democratic DA Stephen Zappala was challenged in the primary by a public defender named Matt Dugan... However, Republicans wrote in Zappala, and his name appeared on the GOP ticket in the general election. In a turnout much higher than in the primary, Zappala prevailed with 51.4 percent of the vote."^[11]

Dugan's decision to run on the Republican line has led some former supporters to switch to Krasner, such as the Philadelphia building trades unions, which supported Dugan in the primary.^[12] Philadelphia Democratic Party chair Robert Brady (D), who did not endorse Krasner in the primary or in past elections, offered his support after Dugan decided to run as a Republican, saying, "As a Democratic ward leader, I will do everything in my power to re-elect our Democratic nominee, Larry Krasner, as Philadelphia’s District Attorney."^[4]

Ronald Castille (R) was the last Republican elected as Philadelphia district attorney, winning a second term in 1989.^[13]

This article covers the November 4 general election. For coverage of the May 20 primary, click the link below:

Philadelphia District Attorney election, 2025 (May 20 Democratic primary)

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Philadelphia District Attorney

Incumbent Lawrence Krasner and Patrick F. Dugan are running in the general election for Philadelphia District Attorney on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Lawrence Krasner (D)
		Patrick F. Dugan (R)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney

Incumbent Lawrence Krasner defeated Patrick F. Dugan in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney on May 20, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lawrence Krasner	64.4	97,636
	Patrick F. Dugan	35.5	53,849
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	211

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 151,696
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Philadelphia District Attorney

Patrick F. Dugan advanced from the Republican primary for Philadelphia District Attorney on May 20, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick F. Dugan (Write-in)	100.0	6,167

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 6,167
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Krasner received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

Working Families Party