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George Soros Continues to Quietly Pile Up Wins in District Attorney Races

Progressive Larry Krasner, who received nearly $2 million in backing from Soros, elected DA of Philadelphia

George Soros / Getty Images
November 8, 2017

Liberal billionaire George Soros has quietly flooded cash into local district attorney races across numerous states in recent years, notching yet another victory Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Larry Krasner, a progressive defense attorney who has joked that he built a career that made him "completely unelectable," made his way out of a crowded Democratic field of eight candidates before defeating Republican prosecutor Beth Grossman by more than 40 percentage points in Tuesday's district attorney election in Philadelphia.

Krasner, who has represented Occupy Philadelphia and Black Lives Matter, and has sued the police department more than 75 times, had a major fundraising advantage that was provided almost exclusively by Soros, who has made it a mission to fund district attorney races throughout the country and has notched victories along the way.

The Soros operation is the same in nearly every city: The financier will establish political action committees, pour money into local races, then turn around and shut them down once the election is over.

On April 28, Soros initially cut a $1,450,000 check to the Philadelphia Justice and Public Safety PAC, a super PAC that was established with the sole intent of backing Krasner. The PAC lists its address as the Perkins Coie law office, a Washington, D.C.-based powerhouse law firm that represents a number of Democratic politicians, committees, and interests. Whitney Tymas, who has been involved with a number of Soros PACs, is the operator of the Philadelphia Justice & Public Safety PAC.

Soros gave $214,000 more to the PAC on May 23, bringing the total amount in support of Krasner to $1.7 million, an unusual high for the average district attorney race. This was the first time a PAC had supported a candidate for district attorney in the city.

Beth Grossman, the Republican nominee, told the Free Beacon in August that she was worried a Krasner victory would turn the city into Chicago or Baltimore.

"I have concerns, if he [Krasner] gets elected, my opponent, I don't want us to turn into a Baltimore," Grossman said at the time. "I don't want us to turn into a Chicago. It's really disturbing—we have one of the finest public defenders offices in the country, we don't need two."

He is set to become one of the most progressive district attorney's in the country.

Soros previously pushed millions into district attorney races in Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico.

Soros was the sole funder of a super PAC last year in Ohio that supported Democratic prosecutors in the state. After the candidates had won, the committee refunded Soros his money and the PAC was shut down.

Requests for comment on his funding of district attorney races were not returned by press time.