Philly DA candidate Patrick Dugan lashes out as he concedes, calling Larry Krasner ‘despicable, uncaring, heartless’
Former Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan delivered a fiery concession speech, saying after he lost twice to incumbent District Attorney Larry Krasner that the DA had wrought "death and carnage."
Shortly after it became clear that Patrick Dugan had, for a second time, lost his campaign to be Philadelphia district attorney, he stood before his supporters and lashed out at the man who beat him.
In Dugan’s assessment, the progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner has wrought “unspeakable suffering” on the city through policies that critics say have prioritized ending mass incarceration over supporting victims of crime.
“Make no mistake about it, Larry Krasner did not win this election,” Dugan, the Republican nominee and a former Municipal Court judge, said. “The truth won, because throughout this campaign, Larry Krasner was finally exposed for what he is: a despicable, uncaring, heartless human being.”
Dugan added: “He looks at death and carnage and the unspeakable suffering that results from his policies, and he shrugs. He blames someone else, anybody else.”
» READ MORE: DA Larry Krasner cruises to a third term in decisive win against Patrick Dugan
Krasner gave brief remarks Wednesday morning, but he did not address Dugan’s speech or take questions.
Dugan delivered the extraordinary concession speech just hours after polls closed across Philadelphia and voters delivered Krasner a third term in office. The outcome was widely telegraphed — Krasner had beaten Dugan by 28 percentage points when both men ran as Democrats in the spring primary.
Following a successful write-in campaign to nominate Dugan as the Republican candidate, Dugan decided to challenge Krasner again this fall, albeit with far less money and institutional support than he had when he ran as a Democrat in deep-blue Philadelphia.
Dugan’s loss Tuesday appeared to reflect the steep odds he faced running as a Republican in a city where GOP voters are outnumbered by registered Democrats 6-1. As of Wednesday morning, and as some votes were still being counted, Krasner led by more than 40 percentage points.
Dugan said Tuesday night that he would go down swinging, speaking forcefully about his opponent during an election night event at Cannstatter Volksfest-Verein, a German American club in Northeast Philadelphia.
Dugan rattled off a litany of grievances against Krasner, from his bristling comments about city judges to what Dugan called lies, dishonesty, and ethics violations.
“We cannot allow this disaster to continue unchecked,” Dugan said.
“I concede the vote count,” he said, “but I do not concede the truth and history.”
It was not the first time Dugan has characterized Krasner as unfit for office. They squared off several times in the lead-up to the spring primary election, when the men publicly insulted one another and at times resorted to name-calling.
The general election was a more subdued affair, as Krasner largely ignored Dugan and avoided attempts to schedule a debate. Krasner, in August, declined Dugan’s invitation to have “a charity boxing match.”
Both men are in their 60s. Krasner said that would have meant “two old men getting hurt.”