Philadelphia Democrats on Tuesday selected Cheryl Parker as their party’s mayoral nominee, the Associated Press announced.
Parker will be favored to win the general election in November when he faces Republican Richard Oh.
The winner will be the city’s 100th mayor. Philadelphia is overwhelmingly Democratic and has not had a Republican mayor elected since the 1950s.
With nearly 66% of precincts reporting, Cherelle Parker led with 32.89% of the vote, with Rebecca Rhynhart a distant second with 22.33%.
Matt Rourke/AP
Democrats retained their majority in the Pennsylvania state House on Tuesday, thanks to a Democratic victory in a closely watched special election, according to the AP.
Philadelphia’s mayoral election is headed into primary day
Recent polls showed five Democrats — Parker, Rinehart, Helen Zimm, Alan Domb and Jeff Brown — had a shot at winning, including three women who could become the city’s first female mayor. In April, nonprofits are nonprofits Committee of SeventyAll five of its surveys found statistical ties.
According to CBS Philadelphia, polling suggested that 1 in 5 Democratic voters were still undecided The top five candidates are all campaigning hard leading up to primary day.
Philadelphia and National Democrats
Philadelphia, the nation’s sixth largest city by population, is a key city for Democrats nationally in the swing state of Pennsylvania. President Biden won Pennsylvania by nearly 80,000 votesMost are coming from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and surrounding suburbs.
Matt Rourke/AP
“It’s one of the few states that’s very close to the 2020 election, and I think for the Democrats in Pennsylvania, the big issue for the mayor is not just to govern the city, but to energize the voters, to get them out. There will be votes in the presidential election,” said Drexel University. Political Science Professor William Drexel.
National Democrats are eyeing the state — Mr. Biden endorsed candidate Heather Boyd in a special General Assembly race also held Tuesday. According to the AP, Boyd won her race, defeating Republican Katie Ford and helping Democrats maintain their narrow majority in the state House.
Democrats took control of the Assembly in November for the first time since 2010, but state Rep. Mike Zabe resigned in March after sexual harassment allegations. Although Jaber’s former district is in the increasingly blue Philadelphia suburbs, Democrats aren’t taking any chances on Boyd’s run, having raised more than $1 million since April.
Republicans hold a majority in the state Senate.
The most expensive Philadelphia mayoral race in history
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the mayoral race in Philadelphia was the most expensive in the city’s history, with two candidates — Derek Greene and Maria Quionez Sanchez — dropping out because the race was too expensive.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, more than $14 million of the $24 million was spent from the two wealthiest candidates who were financing their races. Domb, a real estate developer, poured $10.2 million into his race, and Brown, a Philadelphia grocery store chain owner, contributed $3 million to his campaign.
The other two pioneers – Jim and Rinehart – each raised about $2 million. Parker raised $1.7 million.
The mayoralty is a problem
Dominating the race was a crime, though all candidates generally agreed to fight it. Poverty and living standards have also been major issues.
“You get this real discontent, which I think is natural,” said Richardson Dilworth, head of Drexel’s political science department and author of “Reforming Philadelphia 1682-2022.” He said of Mayor Jim Kenney, “Fairly or unfairly, the current mayor has been absolutely screwed for not doing much — hiding away and stuff like that.”
Dilworth said there is a need to feel “somebody’s home, in some sense” among voters.
Mayoral candidates
Parker, a former Philadelphia City Council member, was endorsed by many ward leaders and other local political leaders. And Mayor Kenny also said he voted for Parker. He was the only black candidate left in the race, and the city’s population is 44% black. Parker gathered support from many leaders in the black community.
Jim, a former teacher, community organizer and city council member, was a progressive in the race. And he got a boost from two of the country’s best-known progressives when both Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for him last week.
Rhynhart, meanwhile, has been supported by major Democratic figures including former mayors Ed Rendell and Michael Nutter, as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer. Rhynhart is a former Philadelphia controller and tried to distinguish himself in policy.
Although all three women collected union endorsements, Brown won the coveted endorsement of the city’s largest municipal union.
Because the May primary falls in an off-election year, voter turnout was expected to be low. Candidates are trying to increase their support in the elections. Sanders, in his speech on Sunday, told voters, “There is no doubt in my mind that Helen is the next mayor of Philadelphia,” if everyone in the crowd votes and brings a few friends or family to the polls.