Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chris Rabb Wins Third District Seat in Congress, Succeeds Dwight Evans

Philadelphia has a new member of Congress. State Rep. Chris Rabb won Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating independent Dennis Mahoney in the Philadelphia based seat that Rep. Dwight Evans is leaving.

The Associated Press called the race for Rabb. In the Philadelphia count, Rabb had 245,322 votes to 16,727 for Mahoney, with 841 of 885 precincts reporting, about 95 percent of the vote in. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the win on Tuesday night, confirming an earlier Fox News projection. The city's own results portal showed the same order with 1,692 of 1,703 divisions reporting.

From Germantown Avenue to Washington

Rabb has represented the 200th District in the Pennsylvania House since 2017, after he was first elected in 2016. His state district covers parts of Northwest Philadelphia, and his district office sits on Germantown Avenue. He lives in East Mount Airy with his two sons. The 3rd District he will now represent spans much of Northwest and West Philadelphia.

A graduate of Yale College and the University of Pennsylvania, Rabb worked as a U.S. Senate legislative aide and at the White House Conference on Small Business during the Clinton administration. He has taught at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business and has written on politics, media and business.

Rabb won the Democratic primary in the spring against state Sen. Sharif Street and physician Ala Stanford, the candidate Evans backed. Rabb describes himself as a democratic socialist. His congressional campaign ran on Medicare for All, labor protections and climate policy.

A one sided general election

Republicans did not field a candidate in the district, one of the most Democratic leaning congressional districts in the country. Mahoney, whose background is in nonprofit work and community development, ran as an independent and took about 6 percent of the vote in the city's count.

Evans is retiring at the end of this term. Rabb's win keeps the seat in Democratic hands and sends a first time member to Washington from a district where the primary, not the general election, was the real contest this year.

Results remain unofficial until the city and the state certify the count. Rabb's margin, more than fourteen votes to one in the Philadelphia count, leaves the outcome in no doubt.