Lawrence Krasner

Lawrence Krasner

Democratic Party

Candidate, Philadelphia District Attorney

Philadelphia District Attorney

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

7

Predecessor

Kelley Hodge

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 2, 2021

Next election

May 20, 2025

Education

Law

Stanford University Law School

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Twitter

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

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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 declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on May 20, 2025.^[source]

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.

2025 battleground election

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

Ballotpedia identified the May 20 primary election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, Philadelphia District Attorney election, 2025 (May 20 Democratic primary)

Incumbent Lawrence Krasner (D) and Patrick F. Dugan (D) are running in the Democratic primary for district attorney of Philadelphia on May 20, 2025.

WHYY Radio's Carmen Russell-Sluchansky wrote, "The contest pits two competing philosophies against each other: Krasner’s commitment to continuing to overhaul a historically punitive system and Dugan’s pledge to restore a sense of safety." No Republican candidate has filed to run in the general election.

The district attorney of Philadelphia is responsible for charging and prosecuting accused criminals. The office decides what offenses someone will be charged with and can also determine sentencing via plea deals.

Krasner was first elected in 2017. Krasner is campaigning on his record, and his website says, "During his first two terms, Larry has focused on the most serious crimes in Philadelphia while working to address the root causes of violence. The results: Murders are down more than 25% from his first year in office even as he has cut sentences in half." He is also campaigning against President Donald Trump's (R) administration. At his campaign launch, Krasner said, "We are going to make sure that [Trump’s] little plan to take over America fails. This election is a whole lot bigger than Philadelphia."

Dugan is a former judge on the Philadelphia Municipal Court. Dugan's campaign website says he would "[p]ersonally engage with communities, law enforcement, and victims to ensure justice is served, expand resources for diversionary programs, job training, and education, [and] always prioritize the safety and well-being of Philadelphia’s residents." Dugan supports a plan to change the structure of the district attorney's office, and his website says he "will restructure the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office into six divisions, each focused on a specific region of the city. Every division will be led by a senior prosecutor responsible for justice in their area."

City & State Pennsylvania's Harrison Cann wrote, "Each candidate will attempt to paint a different picture of the city, with Krasner likely to boast about declining homicide and violent crime rates, while Dugan could hone in on public sentiment that the city doesn’t feel safe." Dugan is critical of Krasner's handling of retail crime, saying, "Wawas are closing. They're closing in Center City... the reality of it is it's because [Krasner's office] couldn't control the retail theft." Krasner says the city has seen a reduction in homicides during his tenure: "We had the largest percent reduction in homicides in Philadelphia’s history... We led the nation among big cities in terms of the improvements in public safety last year... We’re in our fifth year of being on this track of homicides, going down and down and down."

Philadelphia Republican Party chair Vince Fenerty said Dugan was "a fine gentleman and an excellent judge [who] would be honest, fair, and open-minded." Additionally, reporters have speculated on whether national Republican figures would get involved in opposition to Krasner. The Downballot's Jeff Nir and David Singer wrote that Musk "pledged to dump in money to beat progressive prosecutors nationwide, and he's been happy to feed speculation that Krasner could be one of his super PAC's top targets. The two clashed just before the 2024 election when Krasner unsuccessfully sued to stop Musk from giving away $1 million a day to voters who signed a petition."

In addition to the district attorney, Philadelphia voters will also vote for other municipal offices in 2025. To learn more about those elections, click here.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2025)

General election

The primary will occur on May 20, 2025. The general election will occur on November 4, 2025. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney

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

		Candidate
		Lawrence Krasner
		Patrick F. Dugan

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

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Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2021

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2021)

General election

General election for Philadelphia District Attorney

Incumbent Lawrence Krasner defeated Chuck Peruto in the general election for Philadelphia District Attorney on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lawrence Krasner (D)	71.8	155,102
	Submit photo	Chuck Peruto (R)	27.9	60,304
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	570

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 215,976
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney

Incumbent Lawrence Krasner defeated Carlos Vega in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lawrence Krasner	66.8	128,958
	Submit photo	Carlos Vega	33.1	63,953
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	170

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 193,081
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Philadelphia District Attorney

Chuck Peruto advanced from the Republican primary for Philadelphia District Attorney on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Chuck Peruto	95.0	11,199
		Other/Write-in votes	5.0	595

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,794
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2017)

Lawrence Krasner (D) defeated Beth Grossman (R) in the general election for Philadelphia district attorney.

Philadelphia District Attorney, General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lawrence Krasner	74.70%	150,330
	Republican	Beth Grossman	25.27%	50,858
		Write-in votes	0.03%	58
Total Votes				201,246
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Election Results," accessed November 7, 2017

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary election for Philadelphia district attorney.

Philadelphia District Attorney, Democratic Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lawrence Krasner	38.24%	59,368
Joe Khan	20.28%	31,480
Rich Negrin	14.20%	22,048
Tariq El-Shabazz	11.62%	18,040
Michael Untermeyer	8.19%	12,709
John O'Neill	5.96%	9,246
Teresa Carr Deni	1.50%	2,335
Write-in votes	0.01%	20
Total Votes		155,246
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Unofficial 100% Machine Results Available," accessed June 28, 2017

Endorsements

Krasner's campaign received the following endorsements:

• Democracy for America
• Our Revolution
• Color of Change PAC
• The BLOC Party

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lawrence Krasner has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Lawrence Krasner, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 21,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

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2021

Lawrence Krasner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Ballotpedia survey responses

Krasner stated the following in response to Ballotpedia's candidate survey:

“	What about your legal or political experience qualifies you to be the district attorney? No other candidate has more trial experience. No other candidate has better academic credentials. Unlike all other candidates, my career has been spent pushing for criminal justice reform---being part of the solution, rather than being part of the problem. My 25 years of frequently pro bono representation of organizations and individuals who pushed for social change when it was both unpopular and important (e.g. ACT UP, Occupy, Black Lives Matter) establishes that I have walked the walk; I am not merely talking the talk during an election cycle...and contrary to my career. Identify one public figure, past or present, whom you admire. Martin Luther King. Corny, I know, but true. I have been a student of his tactics, writings, life for decades. What would be your top priority if you are elected as district attorney? My top priority will be ending mass incarceration in Philadelphia. What is the biggest challenge facing the district attorney's office in the future? The biggest challenge for the next DA and any progressive elected to office will be standing up to Trump and Sessions and their corrupt and repressive regime. What is your stance on former DA Lynne Abraham's lawsuit to remove Seth Williams from office? The candidate did not provide a response to this question. What is your stance on the city's use of state civil forfeiture laws? The candidate did not provide a response to this question. What is your stance on cash bail for nonviolent offenders? The candidate did not provide a response to this question.	”
—Lawrence Krasner (2017)

Campaign website

Krasner's campaign website stated the following:

“	Standing Up for Our Rights Larry’s career encompasses 30 years of fearlessly standing up for justice and fair treatment on behalf of clients of every stripe. His clients have included defendants arrested for free speech activity (e.g. members of all the following groups—ACT-UP, Heeding God’s Call, RNC 2000 protesters, Occupy Philly, DNC 2016 protesters, Casino-Free Philadelphia, disability rights protesters, Reclaim Philadelphia, Dream Act immigration rights activists, anti-death penalty protesters, KWRU, Black Lives Matter, Philadelphia public school activists, Earth Quaker Action Team, Grannies for Peace, etc.). As District Attorney, Larry will continue to fight for our rights by rejecting illegal use of stop and frisk, fixing our broken cash bail system, and protecting our city’s Sanctuary City status. Solving Philadelphia’s Mass Incarceration Crisis The cost of imprisoning one person for a year pays the salary of a young public school teacher, social worker, or police officer engaging in appropriate community policing. Resources could instead be invested in job training and addiction treatment. Mass incarceration simply won't heal our torn social fabric, and does not make us safer. Real justice does. As District Attorney, Larry will fight for real justice—which makes us safer. Stopping Pursuit of the Death Penalty As District Attorney, Larry Krasner will exercise his lawful discretion not to pursue death sentences. Capital punishment Is an expensive fraud that undermines public safety. Since its reinstatement by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 it has cost Pennsylvania taxpayers over $1 billion that could have been spent on teachers, social workers, police, and addiction and job programs that make us safe. Yet no one on this state's death row who opposed execution has been put to death since 1962; meanwhile six of those who faced execution have been exonerated. Philadelphia is the last northeastern city in which a death sentence is possible. A modern D.A. will not seek a death sentence. Treating Drug Addiction as a Disease, Not a Crime Last year Philadelphia had three times as many overdose deaths as deaths by homicide. Drug addiction tears lives and families apart. Punishing addicts does not make us safer because our criminal justice system is not equipped to treat addiction. Acknowledging that addiction is a public health issue—and acting accordingly—supports addicts’ recoveries and rebuilds their communities. Uniting Police and Communities Ineffective, divisive police measures fail to make us safe. They also divide police and the neighborhoods they protect, increasing unnecessary conflict. While the DA’s office cannot abolish these practices, Larry Krasner will work with the police department to reform divisive law enforcement tactics while holding suspects and police officers equally accountable as required by law. Larry will push for more proactive, intelligence-based policing that focuses on the 6% of criminals who commit 60% of our city’s serious crimes. Victims of crime, their families, communities and suspects deserve transparency and fairness in determining the truth.	”
—Lawrence Krasner (2017)

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Political offices
Preceded by Kelley Hodge (D)	Philadelphia District Attorney 2018-Present	Succeeded by -