Chris Rabb, a progressive state representative, has won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's third congressional district, securing about 45% of the vote. The race was seen as a key test of the 'Mamdani moment'—a reference to Zohran Mamdani's progressive mayoral campaign in New York—and bolsters the left flank of the Democratic Party.
Rabb defeated state senator Sharif Street, who took under 30%, and surgeon Ala Stanford. His grassroots campaign was backed by the Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families party. In his victory speech, Rabb said, 'I have been critiqued for being too radical, too bold. They ain't seen nothing yet.' He called the result 'a triumph of the many over the money' and warned against efforts to undermine the movement.
The district, covering most of Philadelphia's urban core, is the bluest in the US, with Kamala Harris winning 88% of the vote in 2024. Rabb is now on an almost certain path to Congress, succeeding retiring congressman Dwight Evans. He ran on universal healthcare, universal basic income, publicly owned grocery stores, and ending US military aid to Israel, which he calls a genocide and an apartheid state.
Street acknowledged the progressive mobilization that undid his campaign, calling it 'a wake-up call.' Justice Democrats, which endorsed Rabb, framed the result as evidence that voters demand representatives who challenge corporate influence. The group noted that deep-pocketed donors, reportedly linked to Aipac through a shell fund, backed Stanford without success.
