Who\u2019s winning?<\/p>\n
Although the winner of the May 19 Democratic primary<\/a> will almost certainly succeed Evans, observers have little to go by when judging whose message is most resonant.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no independent polling that\u2019s been done,\u201d Rashed said.<\/p>\n Instead, fundraising and endorsements have shaped the perception that Rabb, Stanford and Street are the leading candidates. For example, a fourth candidate, local lawyer Shaun Griffith, was not invited to participate<\/a> in WHYY\u2019s debate based on his fundraising totals.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just assume that these were the front runners just based on a media narrative, fundraising and endorsements and nothing objective,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That also probably had an impact on the race, he said, noting that other candidates such as Morgan Cephas might not have dropped out if polling showed they had a chance.<\/p>\n Street has significant Democratic institutional support, including endorsements from the city party and the 27th Ward, along with years of legislative experience. However, Rashed thinks that\u2019s not enough to help in the primary election<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYour average person who\u2019s buying groceries and looking at the cost of gas in North Philadelphia or Southwest Philadelphia doesn\u2019t know why that\u2019s important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Stanford has benefited from millions in outside spending that put her on TV weeks before her rivals. However, Rashad said that there are diminishing marginal returns on that strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, money on the front end has not been enough to win a race on the back end if that money doesn\u2019t translate into a ground game operation on Election Day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rabb has leaned on grassroots organizing, with progressive groups mobilizing volunteers to knock on doors and campaign across the district.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we endorse a candidate, it is not just a paper endorsement,\u201d Rose said. \u201cWe\u2019ve knocked on many thousands of doors already.\u201d<\/p>\n Rashed points out that the size of a congressional district makes it impossible to canvass a win. Still, the progressive wing of the party might be doing more on the funding front, helping Rabb raise more than $200,000 in April, about twice as much as either Street or Stanford, leaving him with the most in the bank in the final stretch of the race.<\/p>\n