(WHTM) — Proud progressive Chris Rabb easily defeated more establishment candidates in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District in Philadelphia.
Rabb, a state representative, credited refusing corporate donations as a big reason why. He also welcomed a broad coalition of voters, including far-left Democratic Socialists and anti-establishment types.
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“That meant a lot to people who are tired of people, irrespective of whether they are Democrat or Republican, who felt that they were more concerned about the donor class and corporations’ interests over the interests of regular working people,” Rabb said.
But party centrists might cringe when the lawmaker calls for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or for Palestinian voices to be heard.
The Palestinian cause polls well, Rabb said. But the top Democrat in the state, Gov. Josh Shapiro, is Jewish, pro-Israel, and a record-setting fundraiser who didn’t make an endorsement in Rabb’s primary race but was reportedly working against him.
Shapiro and Rabb have since swapped endorsements, though they don’t appear to be ringing ones.
“We’re going to figure out what are the ways in which we can work together as Democrats and what things we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on,” Rabb said. When pressed on the idea of making centrist Democrats uncomfortable, he said his North Star is the moral center.
Rabb said whether Shapiro joins him in the moral center “depends on the issue.”
A campaign spokesman for Shapiro, Manuel Bonder, said the governor spoke with Rabb and that the two will work together to win and advance Philadelphia’s priorities.
“The Governor has been very clear about his focus: defeating Donald Trump’s allies, winning up and down the ballot, and putting a check on Washington D.C.’s chaos, cruelty, and corruption this November,” Bonder said.
Still, the election has some analysts debating whether Rabb is a one-off Democrat in a far-left district, or a warning sign for Shapiro.
“Philadelphia Democrats in a civil war going into a general election — I don’t think that’s the best-case scenario for them,” said Christopher Nicholas on “This Week in Pennsylvania.”
But Democrats aren’t convinced.
“Philadelphia’s gonna come out in droves. They are gonna absolutely go all in for Shapiro,” said Peter Shelley of Clear Point Communications.
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