Here’s what to know about the role of district attorney in your county.
In November’s election, 17 Pennsylvania counties will decide who their next district attorney will be.
Armstrong, Blair, Bucks, Centre, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lebanon, Philadelphia, Potter, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Venango, Warren, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York Counties will elect district attorneys.
The elections for district attorneys are staggered in two-year cycles.
Twelve out of the 17 counties electing a district attorney will see incumbents running unopposed. Bucks, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Philadelphia, and Warren Counties have contested partisan races.
The Philadelphia district attorney race has received heightened attention as a rematch between incumbent Larry Krasner and challenger Pat Dugan unfolds.
Krasner defeated Dugan in the Democratic primary in May, but Dugan secured the Republican nomination through write-in votes.
The person elected to the role of district attorney serves as the county’s chief prosecutor.
District attorneys are elected to four-year terms and prosecute criminal cases on behalf of the Commonwealth, according to Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
“They uphold the law, pursue justice, and support crime victims,” said Callihan in a recent email. She is a career prosecutor and former district attorney for Cambria County.
District attorneys handle a variety of cases, including DUIs, theft or damage to property, drug-related offenses, and violence against a person.
Counties pay for the costs relating to the district attorney’s office out of their general funds, according to Pennsylvania state law.
“District attorneys advocate for treatment programs to support first-time offenders, educate families on child safety, promote violence prevention, and champion victim services. Their work takes place both in the courtroom and in the community,” Callihan said.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday was formerly York County’s chief prosecutor before being elected as attorney general in 2024. Mark Powell of Lackawanna County and Michae Piecuch of Snyder and Union Counties are Court of Common Pleas judges that also served terms as district attorneys earlier in their careers.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Kevin Dougherty and Daniel McCaffery served as assistant district attorneys in Philadelphia before serving in their current roles.
