History reveals Joe Khan, Bucks County’s DA-in-waiting, is a political anomaly

Voters have chosen Joe Khan as the latest of just a few Democrats to ever serve as Bucks County district attorney.

Khan earned approximately 54% of the vote over incumbent Republican DA Jennifer Schorn with all precincts reporting, according to the county’s unofficial election results. He ran unopposed in the May 20 primary.

Khan criticized Schorn for her handling of abuse allegations as Jamison Elementary School in Central Bucks. He has also said more needs to be done to protect the public by prosecuting cases for consumers or the environment.

The last Democrat elected as Bucks County district attorney was Ward Clark in 1965. Clark, according to Philadelphia Inquirer archives, was a Republican who lost the GOP primary and won his election instead on the Democratic ticket.

Prior to Ward was Paul Applebach, a Democrat elected to the position in back in 1891.

Here’s a quick introduction to Bucks County’s new DA:

Who is Joe Khan?

Khan, 50, is a prosecutor and Democratic politician who has held various roles throughout Pennsylvania over the past decade.

Khan served as Bucks County solicitor from 2020 to 2023. He handled a wide variety of cases, including a lawsuit from President Donald Trump’s campaign challenging mail-in ballots.

He was also responsible for the first county-level lawsuit against TikTok and other social media companies. In 2021, Khan worked with the Bucks County Public Defender’s Office to develop an expungement program to clear criminal records for certain offenders.

Khan was named the government lawyer of the year in 2022 by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

He resigned as solicitor in April 2023 to return to private law practice, and he’s currently a partner at Bucks County-based firm Curtin & Heefner, where he co-chairs its appellate section fighting for voting and environmental rights.

Khan also ran unsuccessful campaigns for Philadelphia district attorney in 2017 and Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024.

A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Khan previously served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia and as a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has experience in prosecuting politicians and companies, and took on opioid distributors as a civil litigator.

He currently resides in Doylestown with his two children.