The Pennsylvania Justice and Safety PAC, a committee heavily funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros, has donated $734,000 to the campaign of Matt Dugan for Allegheny County District Attorney, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Dugan received $734,000 from the Pennsylvania Justice and Safety PAC on Friday, while Soros is listed as the sole donor to the PAC, donating $759,000 to it on March 27, the Post-Gazette reported, citing financial records. Dugan is running against incumbent Steve Zappala in the Democratic primary, who has raised $226,800 for his campaign.
Excluding the PAC’s funds, Dugan has raised roughly $75,000 — meaning an overwhelming majority of his funds were donated by the Soros-backed PAC. Dugan’s campaign promises revolve around diverting low-level offenders from jail, eliminating cash bail and reducing time spent on probation.
“That’s right. These dark money groups bought @MattDugan4DA but it will only get worse if he’s elected. So far, these out-of-state groups account for 91% of his money, but they’ll own 100% of his office if elected,” tweeted Zappala spokesman Mike Mikus on Friday.
The majority of the money thus far has been used for ads and mailers criticizing Zappala, according to the Post-Gazette. The Pennsylvania Justice and Safety PAC has listed the donations as in-kind donations that leaves the PAC with ultimate approval regarding the content displayed to voters. Because of this arrangement, Dugan does not have the final say on what is presented on his behalf.
It says a lot about @MattDugan4DA that he would allow one dark money group funded by one billionaire control every aspect of his campaign. He’s letting this out of town group control his campaign leaves no doubt they’ll control his office if he’s elected.
— Mike Mikus (@MikeMikusPA) May 9, 2023
This is not the first time that Soros has donated the overwhelming majority of funding for a Democratic district attorney. In 2017, Soros spent $1.7 million on Larry Krasner‘s winning campaign for Philadelphia district attorney. Under Krasner’s tenure, recidivism and murder rates have soared due to his refusal to prosecute low-level offenders. (RELATED: ‘A Violent Start To The Year’: Murders Are Already Soaring In These Six Major Cities)
Motor vehicle thefts, homicides or both have surged in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis and New York since liberal prosecutors were elected with the help of funding from Soros, according to research from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Our message of reform resonates with the overwhelming majority of Americans – both locally and nationally – who know that the same old “arrest prosecute punish” model simply does not work to keep us safer,” said Team Dugan in a message to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are grateful to all of the folks supporting our campaign, but most especially to the hundreds of local Allegheny County Democrats knocking doors and sharing our vision,” they wrote.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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