PA-03: Rabb enters the race
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) announced that he is a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat to replace the retiring Rep. Dwight Evans.
“Working Philadelphians are being squeezed by the same corporate-backed status quo and political cowardice that have failed our community for generations,” he said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “I’m running because our communities deserve more than performative politics. I’m running because we must fearlessly build a government that delivers economic opportunities, dignity, and justice for all of us.”
Rabb was elected to the state House in 2016 and is currently serving in his fifth term in Harrisburg. He is a member of the Finance, Commerce, Agriculture and Judiciary Committees in the state House.
The self-declared “only progressive in the race,” he is joining an increasingly crowded field for the Democratic nomination with state Sen. Sharif Street, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, as well as former city government employee Robin Toldens and physician Dave Oxman.
“I’ve taken on the establishment before and won,” said Rabb. “We’ve passed progressive legislation in the most difficult political environments. We’ve shifted what’s politically possible. And now we’re bringing that fight to Washington.”
Rabb helped pass legislation creating a statewide misconduct database and championed the 100% by 2050 Renewable Energy bill, which laid the groundwork for statewide energy transition planning.
“I am thrilled to support State Rep. Chris Rabb as he brings his unwavering commitment to racial, economic and gender justice, democracy, and working-class power into the fight for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District,” said community organizer Seth Anderson-Oberman. “Our movements deserve a champion like him in Congress.”
Rabb says that his campaign will reject contributions from corporate political action committees.
“We can’t afford more of the same,” he said. “Our campaign is about disrupting the broken system that serve entrenched power. We’re going to show folks what durable people-power looks like.”
Rabb graduated from Yale and earned a M.S. in organizational dynamics from Penn. Before joining the General Assembly, he taught entrepreneurship at Temple.
Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA, where this article originally appeared.
