[5][6][7] Michael Slackman of The New York Times stated that the Party had "established itself as an emerging political force statewide by getting a little-known candidate elected district attorney in Albany County.

[15][16] Soares was defeated in a Democratic primary by criminal defense attorney Lee Kindlon, who had unsuccessfully challenged him 12 years earlier, by a margin of 55-45%.

[19] On October 26, 2007, Soares was mentioned in the largest local daily newspaper as a possible replacement for Congressman Mike McNulty in the 2008 race for Congress in the 21st congressional district of New York.

[21] Some feel the criticism is politically motivated, and his supporters and independent pundits applaud Soares's progressive approach to criminal prosecution in Albany County.

[21] In an editorial, the Times Union noted, "Mr. Soares has rightly concluded that it would serve no purpose to seek a perjury indictment of Mr. Spitzer because the former governor did not speak with the district attorney's office under oath.

[23] During an interview with Keith Olbermann, Soares called Occupy Albany a "wonderful protest,"[24] and stated that "we would decline to prosecute any of the cases, any of the arrests, based upon the fact that unless there were injuries to police officers or damages to property, then the people should be allowed to exercise their First Amendment right.

[27] Soares received criticism from one Albany County official for arguing back vacation pay to an assistant district attorney whom he had dismissed.

Michael Conners, County Comptroller, noted his supposed hypocrisy, since Soares had received his past due pay when Clyne had fired him.

[28] Soares has received several public service awards during his tenure as District Attorney, including being named a 2015 "America's Top 10 Animal Defender" by the Animal Legal Defense Fund,[29] and the Whitney M. Young Community Partner of the Year Award in 2014 for hosting HIV/AIDS testing at the office's Community Justice and Outreach Center in Albany.

[36][37] The case was profiled by several media outlets, including the Lifetime TV Network's rendition entitled "Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story.

[42] On January 3, 2007, Soares said he would open investigations into wrongdoings in the New York state departments of Education, Health, Motor Vehicles, Labor and Insurance.

[43] Soares investigated the so-called Troopergate scandal in August and September 2007, and found that Governor Eliot Spitzer and his staff broke no laws.

[48] Media reports in February 2024 revealed that Soares is under investigation for directing state grant money received by his office to fund nearly $24,000 in bonuses for himself.

[49] Soares, who earns a salary of $208,000 per year, insisted his actions were legal but pledged in a video to return the money "to change the conversation.