Completely Unelectable Progressive Larry Krasner Wins DAs Race

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/11/07/larry-krasner-wins-district-attorney-general-election/

He beat Republican Beth Grossman by more than 40 percentage points.

by HOLLY OTTERBEIN · 11/7/2017, 9:25 p.m.


At 9 a.m. this morning, Arlene Wilson was nervous.

The South Philadelphia resident wanted Larry Krasner, the Democrat running for district attorney, to win. But even though registered Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one in this city, she wasn’t 100 percent sure he’d make it to the finish line. “This is a quiet election,” she said. “No one’s heard of it.” Plus, there’s been so much “infighting amongst the Democrats.”

Wilson wasn’t the only person who thought Republican Beth Grossman might pull off a historic upset. WURD afternoon host Charles Ellison wrote in October that Krasner “may end up throwing this away.” GOP voters were feeling more optimistic than usual, too. And why wouldn’t they? The city police union and the Philadelphia Inquirer, both of which often back Democrats, endorsed Grossman. “I’m surprised to say it,” said 90-year-old Northeast Philly resident William Britt, smiling after he cast a vote this morning, “but I think she has a chance.”

But Republicans misjudged. With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Krasner beat Grossman 74 percent to 26 percent, although according to polling results so far, Grossman did outperform other recent Republican DA candidates by a small margin. Democrat Seth Williams won the DA’s race by 81 percent and 75 percent in 2013 and 2009, respectively; his predecessor Lynne Abraham led with 82 percent of the vote in 2005.

The Associated Press called the race for Krasner at 9:08 p.m. Tuesday.

Krasner’s victory indicates that progressives are growing more powerful in a city that has typically been more mainstream. In Philly’s 2016 primary, Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders by double digits. That’s quite different from what happened today and in this year’s primary, when Krasner rose to the top of a crowded field of Democrats with the most left-wing platform in the race.


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