A left-wing Pittsburgh district attorney candidate supported by hundreds of thousands of dollars from financier George Soros emerged victorious from Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Public defender Matt Dugan defeated Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala, a 26-year veteran of the post, 56% to 46%, to become the Democratic nominee, according to election results.
Zappala said he plans on running as a Republican in the November election.
"I apologize to my friends and supporters that we didn't have a stronger showing this evening. But I tell you what, if we stick around to the November race, we are going to kick some (expletive) and take some names," Zappala told supporters, according to KDKA News.
Dugan's candidacy received an enormous boost from Soros' cash. The billionaire pushed nearly $760,000 into the Pennsylvania Justice and Public Safety PAC on March 27, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Dugan's campaign reported receiving at least $734,000 in in-kind contributions from the PAC in its filings, which covered the likes of TV advertisements, research, polling and other services. Without Soros' cash, Zappala had drastically more money behind his candidacy.
"It says a lot about [Matt Dugan] that he would allow one dark money group funded by one billionaire control every aspect of his campaign," Zappala's campaign spokesperson Mike Mikus said in a May 9 tweet.
"He's letting this out of town group control his campaign leaves no doubt they'll control his office if he's elected," he added.
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Soros has backed dozens of far-left prosecutor candidates across several cities as part of his efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system, including Larry Krasner in Philadelphia.
Soros' cash to overhaul the criminal justice system extends beyond prosecutors. In 2020, his Open Society Foundations network pledged $70 million to local efforts for such reforms, and the cash was part of a more significant $220 million push at racial equality.
Fox News Digital previously reported his nonprofits sent at least $35 million to anti-police groups and initiatives in 2021, including groups that want to defund police, hubs used by progressive activists aiming to dismantle law enforcement, and even databases that track donations to police department foundations and unions.
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"The Open Society Foundations is proud to have been one of the earliest and most robust supporters of efforts to address the issues of crime and public safety while protecting freedoms that Americans hold dear," Laleh Ispahani, co-director of Open Society-U.S., told Fox News Digital in December.
"We have supported reforms to our criminal justice system that enjoy broad support across the political spectrum," Ispahani said. "We believe that our freedoms are threatened when state actors are above the law, and that accountability is even more essential when they are given the right to use force on behalf of the government."
Soros' spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on his support for Dugan.
