5 Democrats, 2 Republicans battling it out in attorney general primaries

Democratic and Republican voters alike have competitive primary races for Pennsylvania attorney general to decide on April 23.

Democrats have a crowded field of five candidates vying for the nomination:

On the GOP side, there are two candidates: York County District Attorney Dave Sunday, a Navy veteran, and state Rep. Craig Williams, a retired Marine Corps colonel and former federal prosecutor.

None of the Democrats running received enough support to receive the party’s endorsement in December, while Sunday was endorsed by the Pennsylvania Republican Party in January.

The top vote-getters on each side move on to the general election to replace Attorney General Michelle Henry, who was tapped for the job in January 2023 by her predecessor, Gov. Josh Shapiro, but declined to run for office this year.

During a debate last month, the Democratic candidates agreed on protecting abortion rights, banning TikTok and legalizing recreational marijuana.

DEMOCRATS

Keir Bradford-Grey, who would be Pennsylvania’s first Black attorney general, has described herself as “the people’s lawyer” and vowed to pursue “fairness, justice, and the well-being of all.”

Specifically, Bradford-Grey told the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and PennLive for a voter’s guide that her priorities would be protecting access to healthcare and housing, prosecuting those engaging in predatory practices and pursuing those responsible for illegal guns and false advertising by pharmaceutical companies.

Bradford-Grey’s campaign website is keirforag.com.

Her endorsements include several Philadelphia City Council members and labor leaders, and state Sens. Anthony Williams and Vincent Hughes, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman.

Eugene DePasquale served six years in the state House before serving eight years as auditor general. He lost a challenge to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in 2020 and decided against a possible rematch in 2022.

In June 2023, DePasquale told PennLive that his experience as a legislator and auditor general made him the “perfect fit” to be attorney general.

“With my background as auditor general, running a complicated state agency, cracking down on the untested rape kits and the unanswered phone calls to the child abuse hotline and working with Gov. Wolf to make our schools safer and knowing the challenges that are going to be ahead for the next attorney general, I think my background is a perfect fit to take on those fights,” said DePasquale at the time.

DePasquale has said he would support red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of individuals with mental health issues, pursue prosecutions for those committing hate crimes, oppose book bans, and combat efforts to limit voting access.

The campaign website for DePasquale is depasqualeforag.com.

DePasquale has an list of endorsements from Democratic officials, including south-central Pennsylvania state Reps. Patty Kim, Justin Fleming, Dave Madsen and Carol Hill-Evans, and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County; Central PA Building Trades; Democratic committees in Beaver, Northumberland, Armstrong and Perry counties; and several labor and LGBTQ groups.

Joe Khan is a former Philadelphia and federal prosecutor, and former Bucks County solicitor. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Khan spearheaded corruption probes into Allentown and Reading officials.

Khan said his top priorities would be defending democracy, which he has called “the greatest task and potential crisis we face,” and protecting reproductive rights.

“From when to choose not to have a family through abortion to when to choose to have a family through IVF treatments, I believe Pennsylvanians should have the freedom to make those decisions for themselves,” he said for the PennLive/LWVPA primary voters’ guide.

Khan also vowed to protect Pennsylvanians from corporate wrongdoing. “As attorney general, I will be your legal advocate against corporate greed. I will crack down on businesses and CEOs taking advantage of consumers and help defend workers from wage theft, stop price gouging, and close tax loopholes,” he said for the guide.

The campaign website for Khan is joekhan.com.

Khan’s endorsements include 20 Democratic state lawmakers; nearly 40 county and local officials; several Philadelphia ward committees; a few labor groups; the Bucks County Democratic Committee; Moms Demand Action and Clean Air Action.

State Rep. Jared Solomon, a legislator since 2017, has repeatedly warned about and promised to fight against Trump-supporting Republican politicians trying to pass laws that would infringe on individual freedoms, such as voting and abortion rights.

Also, Solomon said for the voter’s guide that he would work with the state Legislature on gun reform, including red-flag laws, banning assault weapons, expanding background checks and closing any loopholes allowing untraceable so-called “ghost guns.”

Solomon’s priorities would also include reducing crime and promoting public schools and communities. In the March Democratic debate, Solomon recounted state funding he worked to get for a diversionary program in Philadelphia and for a gun violence task force in the city.

The campaign website for Solomon is jaredsolomon.com.

Solomon has endorsements from 20 state lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, VoteVets and several labor groups, including the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer is a former assistant district attorney in his home county and a former federal prosecutor in Philadelphia, where he led a gun violence task force.

Stollsteimer has also worked in state government roles and in the private sector financial industry.

At the March debate, Stollsteimer touted his work to move the Delaware County prison from private operation back to county control, reduce the inmate population by not jailing low-level offenders and decriminalizing possession of marijuana for personal use.

‘What we’ve done in Delaware County is balance criminal justice reform with public safety,” he said.

Stollsteimer has said his top priorities would be criminal justice reform, making communities safer and promoting economic and environmental justice.

“We can’t arrest our way out of these problems,” Stollsteimer told SpotlightPA. “We have to bring the community and police together and find those common-ground solutions.”

Stollsteimer’s campaign website is jackforag.com.

Endorsements for Stollsteimer include the Delaware and Chester County Democratic committees, the PA Building Trades, the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Building Trades, the Teamsters, FOP Lodge 27, recommendation from the Allegheny and Philadelphia AFL-CIOs, 24 wards in Philadelphia and several other labor groups.

REPUBLICANS

Neither Dave Sunday nor Craig Williams submitted information for the PennLive/LWVPA voter’s guide.

Sunday has been the York County district attorney for seven years after serving as a chief deputy prosecutor in the county.

SpotlightPA reported that Sunday worked with the county’s Agency on Aging to launch an Elder Abuse Task Force to protect seniors from scams, and teamed up with the county coroner to create a drug intervention program that worked to have police officers carry naloxone to counter opioid overdoses.

At a forum during the conservative Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill earlier this month, Sunday highlighted a computer forensic team created by his office to combat child pornography and human trafficking, and he stressed his commitment to protecting seniors from unscrupulous businesses.

Sunday’s top priorities are public safety and fighting the opioid crisis.

“If our communities are not safe then nothing else matters,” Sunday said during the PA Leadership Conference forum.

Sunday and Williams said during a debate that the state constitution does not guarantee abortion rights and the decision lies with the legislature, SpotlightPA reported. “I will follow the law, whatever that law is, as determined by the legislature,” Sunday said.

“My role as the attorney general will be to enforce the constitution and make sure that anything that is done to try to circumvent the constitution with respect to the Abortion Control Act, that I’ll go in and defend the constitution,” said Williams.

Sunday’s campaign website is davesundayforag.com.

Besides the PA GOP endorsement, Sunday is supported by the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Pennsylvania Sherriff’s Association PAC, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, U.S. Reps. Lloyd Smucker, Dan Meuser and John Joyce, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and several GOP state senators and representatives, including Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill.

Williams was elected in 2020 and has sponsored legislation to give the attorney general’s office jurisdiction over gun crimes in Philadelphia, where progressive district attorney Larry Krasner has angered Republicans with policies viewed as lax on crime.

Two years ago, Williams led the Republican effort in the House to impeach and remove Krasner from office. An impeachment trial never occurred.

At the recent debate, Williams showed his frustration with crime under Krasner’s watch, saying that he was “sick and tired of living next to a place like Philadelphia, where crime is out of control.”

Williams described his approach to crime as “a bona fide, bad-to-the-bone, law-and-order message about prosecuting in these large cities.”

Williams also said that he would target repeat offenders, particularly those that commit gun crimes, and work to address the role that substance abuse plays in crime.

At one point, Williams touted funding he helped get for a pilot program to help incarcerated men can begin to understand why they have fallen into crime and learn to change their lives.

“Addiction is feeding the criminal element,” Williams said.

Williams’ campaign website is craigwilliamsforpa.com.

According to SpotlightPA, Williams has been endorsed by House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler. The campaign did not respond to an email from PennLive asking about Williams’ endorsements.

The Pennsylvania primary election is April 23. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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