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Korchak says he’s ready for rematch of 2019 Republican primary

Current Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak will run for reelection. (Vaughn Golden/WSKG)
Vaughn Golden
/
WSKG
Current Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak is defending his office against Republican Paul Battisti. (Vaughn Golden/WSKG)

Broome County District Attorney Mike Korchak said he’s ready to face a primary challenge as he seeks reelection to the office this year.

Last week, Paul Battisti declared his bid for the office, setting up a rematch of 2019’s primary between him and Korchak.

In his announcement, Battisti criticized Korchak’s performance as district attorney, saying he’s been ineffective at securing convictions and prosecuting crimes.

“He continues to try to mislead the public,” Korchak told WSKG, responding to Battisti’s announcement.

Korchak said he’s worked to secure high-profile convictions, get more school resource officers in place and to get people into drug treatment court instead of incarceration.

"It's really a balancing act that I believe only someone with the experience who's worked their way up through the ranks of the DA's office can understand, that it's not just putting people in jail," Korchak said. "It's finding out what's the appropriate result that you're looking for."

Korchak won the 2019 race for district attorney on the Libertarian line, after losing to Battisti in the Republican primary that year.

Korchak announced he would seek reelection on the Republican line in December.

Vaughn Golden has been reporting across New York since 2016. Working as a freelancer while studying journalism and economics at Ithaca College, Vaughn has reported for a number of outlets including the Albany Times Union, New York Post, and NPR among others. Prior to coming to WSKG full-time, Vaughn was a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times. Vaughn now covers government and politics for WSKG.