– Michael Kleiner –

Judges are trained to deliberate carefully before rendering a verdict. Former Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan may have deliberated a few months before making the decision to switch from being a life-long Democrat to a Republican to challenge incumbent District Attorney Larry Kranser, again, this time in the Nov. 4 general election, but really didn’t think it through. Let’s count the many ways this doesn’t make sense:

• Dugan spent the primary blistering Krasner for the audacity to imply he was a Trumpist (I don’t think Dugan was) and claims by Krasner that Dugan would run as a Republican in November. 
• Dugan repeatedly denied he would accept the GOP nomination after the primary, which made him look principled. The Inquirer says the campaign manager said Dugan wouldn’t run as a Republican.
• Then, Dugan makes the switch, playing right into Krasner being able to say “I told you so.”
• Instead of being a man of integrity, even Bob Brady said Dugan now has “zero integrity.”
• Judge Dugan, the Republican Party isn’t the Republican Party. It’s the Trump Party. You just joined the Trump Party.
• Trump is threatening to send an unrequested and unwarranted National Guard to major metropolitan cities. Krasner is speaking out against that. What can Dugan say?
• After supporting Democratic judicial candidates in the primary, will he now have to support the statewide Republicans and against the retention of the three Democratic Supreme Court justices? Thereby, betraying those candidates.
• If he were to win, would he switch back to the Democrats?
• Most importantly, what is the pathway to victory? In May, Krasner secured 97,636 votes (64.36%), while Dugan received 53,849 votes (35.50%). Is Dugan a glutton for punishment?
• In the 2021 general election, Krasner received 155,102 votes (71.81%), while Republican Charles Peruto polled 60,304.
• In the 2024 Presidential election, Donald Trump received 144,311 votes in Philadelphia, which has to be considered the ceiling for a Republican. Even if Dugan miraculously reached that number-90,000 more votes than he received in the primary–it’s still less than what Krasner received in 2021, though there is no guarantee Krasner gets the same amount this time.
• If he thought he would receive all those 53,000 votes automatically, he was greatly mistaken. His greatest supporters politically and financially were The Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and Laborers District Council. Ryan Boyer, President of both, is furious with Dugan.
• “I’m just frankly shocked,” said Boyer in the Inquirer. ​​“We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that District Attorney Krasner wins.”
• “IBEW Local 98 supported Judge Dugan [in the primary] because of his unwavering commitment to organized labor and his dedication to creating a safer city,” Thomas Lepera, political director of the  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 said in a statement printed in the Inquirer. “However, we have not made an endorsement in the general election, nor do we have any plans to do so.”
• What about the committee people and Ward Leaders that supported Dugan in the primary? They can’t now because we know what Brady does to committee people and Ward Leaders who support non-Democrats.
• Krasner has a base, a loyal one, who will work for him.
• Dugan’s base may be the 6,000 Republican write-in votes he received in May.
• The last Republican D.A. was Ronald D. Castille, who served from 1986-1991.