May 19, 2026
Provided Image/Rabb for Congress
Progressive state Rep. Chris Rabb is projected to win the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District in Pennsylvania, according to the Associated Press. Rabb defeated state Sen. Sharif Street and Dr. Ala Stanford to earn the party's nomination for the seat of retiring Rep. Dwight Evans in November.
State Rep. Chris Rabb is the projected winner of the closely watched Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, notching a major victory for progressives in one of the nation's bluest strongholds in Philadelphia. Rabb defeated state Sen. Sharif Street and physician Ala Stanford, taking a commanding share of the vote as the more moderate Democrats offset one another.
The Associated Press called the race for Rabb at 10:42 p.m. with approximately 84% of the vote counted. Rabb had 44.2% of the vote, followed by Street with 29.5% and Stanford with 24.1%. Shaun Griffith, an attorney and manager of a Roxborough tax firm, garnered 2.1% of the vote. All results are unofficial until certified by election officials.
The 3rd District race held a spotlight in Democratic circles for months, putting Philadelphia voters' party alignment to the test.
Competition for the seat long held by retiring Rep. Dwight Evans, now in his fifth term, flared around U.S. involvement in Israel's war in Gaza and broader questions about how Democrats should contend with the GOP to gain an advantage in November's midterms.
Entering Tuesday, the race was viewed as a toss-up. No Republicans filed to run in the district, which cast 88% of its votes for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The 3rd District covers most of West and Northwest Philadelphia, parts of Center City and neighborhoods in South and North Philadelphia.
"Chris Rabb won because voters saw him as fighting to shake up an economic and political system rigged for billionaires against working people," the Progressive Change Campaign Committtee, which endorsed Rabb, said in a statement Tuesday night. "Across the nation, primary voters are choosing bold economic populists like Chris Rabb as the new face of the Democratic Party."
The costly campaign, estimated at $9.84 million by financial data platform Quiver Quantitative, has been a reflection of the political fault lines between the centrist arm of the Democratic Party, represented by Street and Stanford, and its progressive wing championed by Rabb.
Rabb was first elected to the Pennsylvania legislature in 2016 and has served five terms in the 200th District, which spans Mount Airy and Cedarbrook in Northwest Philadelphia. The former business professor and union organizer at Temple University authored the 2010 book "Invisible Capital," examining the barriers that societal inequality imposes on entrepreneurship.
In his campaign, Rabb identified as a Democratic Socialist and anti-establishment candidate poised to build on the electoral success of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other progressives. He's been an outspoken critic of Democrats, including Street and Stanford, who recoil from using the word genocide to describe Israel's military operation in Gaza.
Rabb's platform calls for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and legalizing cannabis for adults. He also wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and end funding to Israel.
Street, an attorney and son of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, is in his third term in Pennsylvania's 3rd Senatorial District and was the chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party from 2022 to 2025. He made an unsuccessful U.S. Senate run in 2022.
Street's campaign focused on his legislative record, including his role in creating Pennsylvania's healthcare exchange Pennie and his sponsorship of bipartisan legislation to legalize marijuana. Street called for investing $500 billion in school infrastructure, fighting to lower healthcare costs, boosting affordable housing and challenging the "extreme agenda" of President Donald Trump, whom he and other lawmakers have defeated in court cases surrounding voting laws.
Stanford, a physician making her first run for political office, rose to local prominence as the founder of the Black Doctors Consortium in Philadelphia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mobile testing and vaccination clinic focused on underserved areas of the city, leading Stanford to expand its mission with the creation of the Center for Health Equity in North Philadelphia.
Stanford went on to serve as the Mid-Atlantic regional director of the Department of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration. Her campaign supported expanding the Affordable Care Act, SNAP benefits, affordable housing vouchers and registered apprenticeship programs as well as increasing the federal minimum wage and abolishing ICE.
All three candidates weathered scrutiny and received major endorsements leading up to Tuesday's primary, creating a splintered picture of the party's allegiances in one of the Democrats' national strongholds.
Stanford denied reports that her campaign received money through a Super PAC from the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She was endorsed in October by Evans, who touted her record of service to the city and her federal government experience. Stanford also earned endorsements from U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan, who represent suburban counties outside Philadelphia.
Street came under fire over his son's legal troubles, including an alleged scuffle with a security guard during Mayor Cherelle Parker's 2024 inauguration and a hit-and-run that injured a girl months earlier. Street was endorsed by Parker, the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee and Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO. He also had endorsements from City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and eight other council members.
Rabb faced criticism this month for casting the lone vote against advancing two anti-sex trafficking bills in the state House, citing objections to how the legislation could impact child care providers. Rabb is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who appeared with him in Philly for a campaign event last week, and other congressional progressives including Summer Lee, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. He also was endorsed by the editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party.
"The question in this race was not whether we would elect a Democrat, but what kind of Democrat we would choose," City Council members Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, co-chairs of the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, said in a statement. "The people of Philadelphia made their choice clear: bold, working-class leadership, and an end to the broken status quo."
