When it comes to political campaigns, you win some and you lose some.
But when you personally fork over millions to impact an outcome and your guy loses, it has to sting.
Now George Soros is demanding answers after wasting $2 million on a radical DA candidate in Pittsburgh.
Left-wing billionaire George Soros has been busy in recent years.
He’s bankrolled countless left-wing activists in races for District Attorney all across the United States.
In cities where the Soros-backed candidates have won, the results have been universally disastrous, with huge upticks in criminal activity, rampant drug use and homelessness associated with it.
In Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, home of the city of Pittsburgh, Soros’ chosen candidate was a man named Matt Dugan.
Dugan made it plain during the campaign that he wanted to implement the very same policies that have failed in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.
He advocated for eliminating cash bail, prosecuting fewer offenders and reducing the prison population.
In a campaign video, Dugan said, “The whole system is broken. For 23 years, we’ve had a prosecutor whose calling card was that he’s tough on crime. But as chief public defender, I’ve seen the failure of that approach nearly every single day. I’ve seen kids’ lives ruined for a mistake they thought was the only way out of a bad situation, while dangerous criminals are never brought to justice.”
Dugan challenged incumbent District Attorney Stephen Zappala in the primary election in May.
Dugan prevailed in that contest, beating Zappala by a margin of 10%, after receiving $700,000 from the Soros-funded Pennsylvania Justice and Public Safety Political Action Committee (PAC).
A swing and a miss for the radicals in Allegheny County
The Soros PAC then spent an additional $1.1 million through October, but, in an unusual sequence of events, Zappala was able to prevail in the general election after he was nominated by the Republican Party as a write-in candidate.
It was a close race, with Zappala prevailing by a margin of 51-48 percent.
In a concession speech, Dugan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “We connected with a lot of voters. We just came up a little bit short. I care deeply about criminal justice, I care deeply about Allegheny County, and there’s a space for me out there somewhere. I’ll tackle that tomorrow.”
Matt Dugan greets his supporters after conceding the election. pic.twitter.com/ZIFUSQp3ul
— Paula Reed Ward (@PaulaReedWard) November 8, 2023
Zappala has been the district attorney for Allegheny County since 1998.
During his tenure he has pushed for a stronger police presence in high-crime areas of Pittsburgh.
Zappala: More thorough policing is needed
Zappala said he favored a “broken windows” approach to law enforcement during a debate with Dugan.
This approach is based on the idea that when smaller crimes are policed aggressively, more serious offenses are less likely to occur.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters on Election Night, Zappala said, “I think we started a conversation … about our government and about who we are as a community. And certainly people were aware of their government, and they’re aware of some of the problems we have and some of the things that need to be done. So I think it was more a referendum on us as a community.”
Zappala has made it known that he is dissatisfied with Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, whom he accuses of not policing rigorously enough.
In the end, it is comforting to see that radicalism has been held at bay in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
Hopefully, voters in other communities follow this lead in future elections for the safety of their residents.
