When progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner refused to participate in any debates outside the friendly confines of public radio, his opponent in the Democratic primary pulled the plug.
As a result, with less than a month to go until the May 20 election, there are no debates scheduled in the race for Philly D.A.
If Krasner continues to reject all debate requests from local TV stations and other venues, says his opponent Judge Patrick Dugan, then he won’t participate in the April 22 debate hosted by WHYY-FM.
“At this time, Judge Dugan will only participate in this WHYY radio event when Larry commits to a debate on network television on ABC or NBC (as he has declined CBS and Fox invites because he doesn’t like the moderators),” the campaign told DV Journal in a statement.
“Larry’s selfish and inconsiderate actions of dragging out the CBS debate invitation for over five weeks were disrespectful to the event organizers, the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and WURD Radio, which directly reaches Black and Brown voters. These organizers planned this event last year with a Lenfest grant and were the first event to invite both our campaigns to a televised debate on March 4.”
“Larry refusing to give our voters this opportunity is a disservice to democracy and is a form of voter suppression,” the Dugan campaign added. “Larry seems reluctant to debate Judge Dugan on television because he would have to defend his abysmal record of failing to prosecute illegal guns, failure to communicate with victims, and failure to combat rampant retail theft caused by his policies.”
Krasner’s campaign responded by pointing to a poll showing the incumbent with a big lead.
“We received three debate offers and accepted one proposed by WHYY, the Bar Association and Committee of 70 with a diverse slate of moderators. 6ABC has never made an offer to host a debate — a fact that they should confirm, if asked,” said Krasner campaign spokesperson Anthony Campisi.
The Krasner campaign also released a poll taken late last month by Lake Research Partners showing Krasner with a nearly 40-point lead over Dugan.
“On an initial ballot with no information provided about the candidates, Krasner picks up a majority (58 percent), leading Dugan (21 percent) by +37 points. Krasner has majority support among both White (51 percent) and Black (69 percent) voters, but his support in the Black community is overwhelming,” the pollsters said.
Dan Kalai, a spokesman for Dugan, downplayed that poll.
“You can make an early internal poll say whatever you want it to say, but the facts are that Larry Krasner has failed to show voters why he deserves a third term as district attorney, and the proof is in the pudding: he’s failed to fundraise, he’s failed to secure endorsements from open wards he received in the past, and he’s lost support from labor unions who supported him last time around,” said Kalai.
“There is a tangible Krasner fatigue across the city. And we are capitalizing on it with our broad coalition.”
Unions representing firefighters, paramedics, transport workers, building trades, laborers, carpenters, teamsters, steamfitters, plumbers, and operating engineers, among others, support Dugan, the former Municipal Court president judge.
The city’s biggest union, the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, backed Krasner in the past, but voted not to endorse either candidate in next month’s primary.
Ralph Cipriano’s Big Trial Bog accused Krasner of skipping campaign events because he believes he’s a shoo-in. “With five weeks to go before the May 20 Democratic primary for D.A., Larry Krasner is already taking a victory lap,” he wrote.
But Krasner’s team blamed scheduling issues.
“We’ve appeared at events across Philadelphia, from community meetings to ward gatherings. We decide on events based on logistics and the event format. It’s not possible to reach everyone,” Campisi said.
