Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg for the Capital-Star).
While Republicans serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly have largely led the effort to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, one Democrat representing parts of the city is running an ad boosting the same message.
State Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D-5th District), who represents most of Northeast Philadelphia, released a digital ad on social media that touts his support of impeaching the progressive Democrat.
“He’s the only one endorsed by the Philadelphia FOP and he’s also the ONLY Democrat in the Senate who supports impeaching Larry Krasner,” the sponsored ad from the campaign says. “Jimmy ALWAYS puts our safety ahead of politics.”
Dillon was first elected to the state Senate in 2022 via a special election to fill the seat previously held by Democrat John Sabatina, who won a seat on the Common Pleas Court. Dillon defeated Republican Sam Oropeza by 13 points to fill the rest of Sabatina’s four year term, but is now facing a challenge from Republican Joe Picozzi in November.
Picozzi also supports the effort to impeach Krasner.
“I support removing Krasner as soon as possible by impeachment or at the ballot box,” Picozzi emailed the Capital-Star. “As a Senator, I will push to switch Philadelphia to an open primary system to enable all Philadelphians to participate in key decisions for their future. I will campaign vigorously for Krasner’s removal next year as the voice of Northeast Philly.”
State Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D-Philadelphia) campaign ad.
Krasner, who was first elected as Philadelphia’s district attorney in 2017, has remained a talking point in the race for the district. During the 2022 campaign, Oropeza said he would introduce articles of impeachment against Krasner, while Dillon described himself as not a “Jim Kenney or Larry Krasner guy,” a reference to the city’s last mayor and current district attorney, and said he backed Carlos Vega in the Democratic Party primary over Krasner, according to the Northeast Times.
Krasner is currently serving in his second term as Philadelphia district attorney and is up for reelection in 2025, with the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting in April that he’s planning to run again.
Krasner has become one of the faces of progressive criminal justice policies and was one of several Democratic prosecutors targeted by Republicans in the backlash of racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. Krasner cruised to victory in his two previous bids, although lost nine wards in Northeast Philadelphia in 2021.
In November 2022, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, then controlled by the GOP, voted 107-85 to send articles of impeachment to the state Senate, charging Krasner with dereliction of duty and refusal to enforce the law, obstructing the select committee empaneled to investigate his office, and violations of rules of professional conduct, judicial conduct, victims’ rights and the state constitution. Every Republican, except then-state Rep. Michael Puskaric (R-Allegheny), voted for impeachment. No Democrats in the state House voted to impeach Krasner.
Then-House minority leader Joanna McClinton, a Democrat representing parts of Philadelphia, accused Republicans of attempting to overturn the will of the people through the impeachment effort.
Dillon was the only Democrat in the state Senate to vote in favor of two resolutions setting the rules for the impeachment process against Krasner.
Jay Costa, the Democratic leader in the state Senate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Capital-Star.
Dillon and Picozzi have both voiced their opposition to Krasner during the current campaign and it is a topic of discussion for the Pennsylvania state House’s 172nd District, also located in Northeast Philadelphia.
Impeaching Krasner has not been at the forefront of the current legislative session. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 26 that the articles of impeachment expired when the 2021-2022 legislative session ended.
The race for the 5th Senatorial District has not garnered the same attention as some of the other races for state Senate this cycle, although the Senate Republican Campaign Committee (SRCC) has pointed to old social media posts from Dillon’s business account, which include racist and homophobic language. The SRCC has sent out several press releases criticizing Dillon for the posts, calling them “disqualifying.” Dillon has denied making the posts, saying others had access to his account at the time.
The SRCC sent out another press release on Monday showing another old post from the Hoops 24/7 account in 2015 that wrote “NE1 looking 2 get lucky 2night, b outside the Wells Fargo around midnight 10,000 women drinking & reliving the glory days of freestyle music.” The Dillon campaign denied he had made that post as well. Campaign spokesperson Brit Crampsie told the Capital-Star: “That SRCC release is more of the same lies. Taking decades old posts written by other people and making defamatory accusations against Senator Dillon. He didn’t write it and doesn’t talk like that.”