PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — State Rep. Chris Rabb has won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, essentially securing him the general election in November.
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Rabb emphasized the power of community, saying it was “a triumph of the many over the money.”
Rabb ran a campaign further left than any of his competitors, State Sen. Sharif Street and Dr. Ala Stanford. He campaigned on policies like universal basic income, securing a living wage and healthcare for all, and investing in clean energy.
“We demand systemic change. And I have been critiqued along this campaign for being too radical. They ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said.
There was no incumbent in this race, but Rabb’s triumph came at the expense of institutional candidate Street, who had the endorsements of city leadership and labor unions.
Rabb won the support of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He was also the chosen candidate of The Philadelphia Inquirer. At a rally last week, Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd of several hundred in a North Philadelphia church that Rabb was the best candidate for the current political moment.
The Associated Press called the race with 84% of the votes in. Street came in second with a little over 39,000 votes. Stanford, who started off strong in first place with mail-in ballots, drifted to third with around 33,000 votes. Rabb came in with more than 61,000.
The 3rd District is the only one that lies completely within city limits, comprising North, Northwest, Center City and parts of South and West Philadelphia. It’s been 30 years since there’s been an election without an incumbent on the ballot, going back to Chaka Fattah’s first term. Dwight Evans defeated Fattah in 2016, after Fattah’s corruption indictment, and has held the seat ever since. Evans announced he would not run again after a stroke. He endorsed Stanford in the race to succeed him.
