No TV debate for Philly's hot DA election? That could lead to a win for incumbent, observers say, but it’s a loss for voters.
Philadelphia District Attorney candidates Larry Krasner (left) and Pat Dugan (right) appearing this week on WURD Radio (CREDIT: WURD Radio livestream)
Each campaign has declined at least one debate invitation. But as incumbent Larry Krasner picked his preferred forums, traditional televised appearances have not made the cut.
By Jared Council
The high-profile Democratic primary race for Philadelphia District Attorney is poised to end soon with voters getting only one radio debate and no TV debates between the two candidates.
On Thursday, May 8, with less than two weeks before the May 20 election, incumbent Larry Krasner and challenger Pat Dugan each appeared virtually on WURD Radio, which targets a Black audience in a city that's about 43% Black.
It was the first district attorney candidate debate forum this cycle to be moderated and broadcast by a media outlet, and it may be the only.
Prior to that, there were at least three opportunities since April 1 for Krasner and Dugan to join in-person candidate forums scheduled for broadcast by local TV stations. But for one campaign reason or another, those events either only featured one candidate or were nixed entirely, along with opportunities for voters to make side-by-side comparisons.
Civic and political observers say a lack of debates — especially televised ones — could contribute to lower voter awareness and interest in the race. That in turn could depress an already low expected voter turnout, which was 21% in the primary election four years ago.
"By refusing to participate in the TV debates, the campaigns are denying voters a chance to hear from all the candidates side-by-side in a focused setting with lots of eyeballs and attention focused solely on public service," said Lauren Cristella, President and CEO of Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based, nonpartisan civic advocacy organization.
"It's just a totally different environment that really serves the voters best interest, not necessarily both of the candidates."
Strategy shift?
First elected Philadelphia District Attorney in 2017, Krasner earned national media attention as one of the country's leading "progressive prosecutors" who have pressed for reforming a criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts families of color.
Dugan is a former judge who is positioning himself as a reformer who will be tougher than Krasner on serious crime, especially gun cases. He said Krasner's policies made Philadelphians feel unsafe and led them to support President Trump in greater numbers in 2024 (20%) than in 2020 (17.9%).
Krasner, meanwhile, sees Trump as a growing political liability in Philadelphia and is painting Dugan as an inexperienced candidate who is favored by the Republican Party.
Larry Platt, founder and editor of The Philadelphia Citizen, said Dugan stands to gain more from TV debates than Krasner, a two-term incumbent who already enjoys significant name recognition.
Platt notes that Krasner had no problem with televised debates in 2017 and 2021, and he pitched himself as a “democracy advocate” when he announced his current re-election campaign.
"He debated [Democrat] Carlos Vega on TV four years ago, so you would think that he would honor his responsibility to the citizenry if he really thinks he's a democracy advocate," Platt said.
Anthony Campisi, a spokesperson for the Krasner campaign, said his team would have liked to debate on television but it appears unlikely at this stage.
“Our preference would have been to have a televised debate,” he said. “But it doesn't appear — we're still open to getting additional offers — but it doesn't appear like there's going to be one of those. And it's unfortunate, right? We wish something could have worked out.”
Pulling the plug
The virtual debate hosted Thursday by WURD Radio came together roughly a week before it aired, according to General Manager Ashanti Martin. The event was video streamed on Facebook, Twitch, and the radio station's website.
WURD had been scheduled to be a broadcast partner for an April 24 televised forum with the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and CBS News Philadelphia — but that event was canceled about two weeks prior.
PABJ President Ernest Owens said the Dugan campaign had confirmed early but the Krasner campaign had not given a definitive answer to his organizers for at least a month before declining. He believes the Krasner team had an issue with him being a moderator because of Owens’ critical coverage of the Krasner campaign in the past.
"I have never seen this level of disdain towards the free press when it comes to simple things like a debate forum," Owens said. "I think we're recognizing that people in power, on both aisles of the political arena, are skirting away from accountability. People want to manufacture their own image. They want to curate their own platforms."
Debate formats in focus
Campisi, the Krasner spokesperson, said Krasner is busy with both campaign and district attorney obligations and can't make every invited event. He said the team considers all invitations and then decides which commitments to make.
He said there were several reasons the campaign chose an April 22 WHYY event over the April 24 PABJ/CBS event.
"We really liked the WHYY event," Campisi said. "We had a diverse moderator panel ... and had rules in that debate that we thought were really fair. And so, between the two of them, we chose the one with a better set of moderators and more experienced moderators, better rules, and a better chance, we thought, for a robust exchange of ideas."
Ultimately, only Krasner participated in that WHYY debate, which was video streamed.
Dugan reneged on his commitment to the WHYY event. Campaign spokesperson Daniel Kalai said that was a result of how the Krasner campaign treated the PABJ/CBS organizers.
"We thought that was really wrong," Kalai said. "We said yes to every event; [Krasner] should say yes, too. The voters deserve that. You're Mr. Democracy Advocate."
WHYY didn't respond to requests for comment.
The most recent joint candidate forum to cancel was an event planned for May 6 by Hispanic media outlets Impacto Media and Univision 65, which was to be televised on Univision. Kalai said the Dugan team confirmed and had no demands but talks broke down when Krasner's team wanted the ability for him to speak in Spanish.
Campisi said: "We weren't able to come to terms that both sides could agree to, but I'm not going to get into anything more than that."
An Impacto spokesman declined to comment and pointed to a statement that said, "For reasons beyond our control, the Latino Forum for District Attorney Candidates scheduled for this Tuesday, May 6, has been canceled." Univision didn't respond to requests for comment.
Media response
Platt said for nearly two months, Krasner's campaign failed to give a definitive answer on his participation in The Citizen’s April 2: “Ultimate Job Interview” event.
While this wasn't a traditional debate, both candidates were invited that evening to answer job interview-style questions in separate sessions on stage, a popular format that all major candidates agreed to during the mayoral primary. Only Dugan participated in the forum, which was video streamed by 6abc.
"There was never a statement from the campaign that he might not want to do this for reasons A, B or C,” the Citizen’s Platt said. “It was always just scheduling, which should not be that hard, frankly.”
Martin, of WURD, said candidates have a multitude of options today for getting their messages to their audiences, including social media, so traditional TV and radio are going to be "less a part of the calculus" as they had once been.
But regardless of candidate choices, media outlets still have a job.
"That's the fundamental job of what the media is supposed to do: Get in people's faces and ask the tough questions,” Martin said. “By whatever means necessary.”
*Writer’s note*
I am the editorial lead for Philadelphia’s Every Voice, Every Vote, the largest civic-information and journalism coalition of its kind in the United States. When not covering Every Voice, Every Vote news, I write about civic engagement more broadly in Philadelphia. I worked previously as a reporter for Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and local media.
The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, The Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY, and Impacto are each media members of the Every Voice, Every Vote coalition, which co-sponsors some of their debates and campaign coverage.