This Progressive Group Was Declared Dead Last Year. It Racked Up Wins on Tuesday.

"Tuesday was a banner day for progressive prosecutors. Philadelphia's Larry Krasner was elected to a third term, defeating Patrick Dugan. Krasner had already bested Dugan by 30 points in May's Democratic primary. Dugan secured the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate, rendering the general election a rematch of the primary. But Krasner's victory was even more resounding the second time around-he beat Dugan by nearly 50 points."

"Krasner was not the only progressive prosecutor to win reelection this week. Stephanie Morales, of Portsmouth, Virginia, also secured a third term, receiving more than twice as many votes as either of her two challengers. In New York, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was elected to a second term. He won more than 70 percent of the vote, beating two challengers."

"These results stand in stark contrast to a narrative that circulated last fall. In 2024, two high-profile progressive incumbents, Los Angeles' George Gascon and Portland's Mike Schmidt, lost to more-moderate challengers. News accounts of these elections proclaimed that the losses were a " significant setback" for the progressive prosecutor movement, evidence that the push is " under siege," and even signaled its end."

Progressive prosecutors won multiple decisive election victories across the country, including Larry Krasner's commanding third-term win in Philadelphia and Stephanie Morales's third term in Portsmouth, Virginia. Manhattan's Alvin Bragg secured a second term with over 70 percent of the vote, and Brooklyn's Eric Gonzalez faced no challengers for reelection. These outcomes contrast with high-profile 2024 losses by George Gascon and Mike Schmidt and the 2022 recall of Chesa Boudin. Postpandemic crime concerns had been credited with a backlash against reform, but recent electoral results undermine the notion of a widespread collapse of the progressive prosecutor movement.

Read at Slate Magazine