Triumph and defeat for the Democratic far left in the primaries: Larry Krasner wins in Philadelphia, Ed Gainey defeated in Pittsburgh
With his victory in 2021, Gainey became the first African-American mayor in Pittsburgh's history.
Larry Krasner in a file image.
Far-left Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner emerged as the winner Tuesday of the Democratic primary in the district attorney election. Krasner could serve his third consecutive term in office after no Republican Party candidates registered to run, which would make him eligible for reelection for another four years in November's general election. The 64-year-old attorney, who has sought to bring about a sweeping reform of Philadelphia's criminal justice system, defeated former Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan, despite the latter's campaign raising more funds and winning the endorsement of the construction labor union group Philadelphia Building Trades Council.
Although many media reports had speculated before the election that this gave Dugan a huge advantage, the truth is that Krasner knew how to run an efficient campaign, connecting with more left-leaning voters, to whom he promised profound changes that several experts have described as extremist. According to the published results, these being more than half of the in-person votes and a substantial portion of the mail-in votes counted, Krasner has over 60% with a lead of just over 15,000 votes.
Progressive defeat
While the far-left wing of the Democratic Party got some big news with Krasner's victory, on Tuesday night, it also suffered a strong setback with the defeat of progressive Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who lost the Democratic primary for that city's mayoral election to Allegheny County Comptroller Corey O'Connor. The result represented a windfall for the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party, with O'Connor being a candidate more inclined to the political center, against a Gainey who, since being elected in 2021, proved to be one of the most promising figures of the more radical Democratic faction.
With his victory in 2021, Gainey became the first African-American mayor in the history of Pittsburgh. In the primaries for said election, Gainey pulled off a surprise by defeating then-incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto, who was considered the favorite to win reelection.
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