Chris Rabb talks about winning Democratic primary in race for Congress

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:01][music] >> It's a race that shakes up Philadelphia politics and showed the power and popularity of a progressive movement.

[00:00:13]State Representative Chris Rabb winning the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's third district congressional race. The Democratic Socialist defeating the state senator backed by the [music] mayor and Philly Democratic Party. Defeating the doctor backed by the retiring congressman who holds the seat right now. In this episode of Battleground Politics, I sat down with Chris Rabb to talk about the race that got him here and what's ahead for him and Democrats.

[00:00:38]Congratulations. Thank you. How are you feeling?

[00:00:42]I I'm feeling relieved.

[00:00:44]I'm feeling vindicated. I'm feeling excited and looking forward to some rest.

[00:00:52]This was a big win. This was not close.

[00:00:57]How did you do it?

[00:00:59]Grassroots organizing. It's the hallmark of all of my previous victories on a much smaller scale, but I didn't rely on endorsements and You had You had some endorsements though that you touted. Yes, but endorsements don't win elections. People power does.

[00:01:19]So, I was My campaign was powered by nearly 8,000 donors. Um small donors like around $100 on average um and hundreds of volunteers and working in partnership with grassroots organizations knocking on doors of neighbors around the district and with the a resonant platform that moved people who did not feel seen in conventional campaigns and election cycles. I know you were confident, but were you surprised with the margin? Yes.

[00:01:50]I mean, it was a resounding victory and it it pushed back against a a of the narratives of where my support came from.

[00:01:59]My support was as diverse as the district. I won a majority of majority black wards.

[00:02:06]I won young people, my base super voters, black women.

[00:02:12]That's been my base for 10 years. So, it was reflective of the broad array of constituents and voters around the district I'm very proud of and won some areas that I didn't anticipate doing so well in.

[00:02:28]The last numbers that I saw unless they changed, you won in the 50th ward which is the mayor's ward.

[00:02:35]>> Yes.

[00:02:37]What did What did you think about that?

[00:02:38]Did you expect that?

[00:02:40]Um it was my hope, but also I've represented that ward for 10 years. And so, >> as a state representative.

[00:02:48]>> as a state representative. So, I won that ward back 4 years ago in my last contested race. So, I was hoping I would. I I didn't know I would do as well as I did given that that ward endorsed one of my opponents. And when I saw the early votes come in, and I saw that we got 38% of early votes, that's when I kind of knew that this was ours for the taking on election night.

[00:03:14]Uh I I saw you during the campaign get somewhat emotional.

[00:03:23]Tell me what emotions were going on at the the night of the rally and just sort of in those final days and why that was so emotional for you.

[00:03:38]Well, I was surrounded by my my two sons who it was the first time we all voted together.

[00:03:44]Um and I was missing my late father and I was thinking about all of my ancestors over generations and centuries in this nation who sought to build a more perfect union and I thought about the strength that I drew from from their collective spirit and I was just overtaken with with joy and promise that you know, we can do this. We can invest in the type of movements that will materially change people's lives, but in that moment I was surrounded by loved ones and a community of people who felt hope and inspiration and community in very dark times and I felt like in the midst of all this chaos and dysfunction that people could come together and in that room it was an extraordinarily diverse array of people.

[00:04:41]Like every possible demographic was showing up together shoulder to shoulder. I was just overcome with emotion. Did you Did you steel yourself expecting that might happen or >> steel. It's not my nature. I'm just very I'm a very vulnerable person and my my kids used to you know, make fun of me.

[00:04:59]Like oh hey dad's crying again. Like I just um it's just how I'm wired and I was overcome but you know, these tears are tears of of joy um and uh humility. I didn't know when I announced back in July that I was going to be the next member of Congress. I didn't I just knew that I was walking in my purpose.

[00:05:23]What are you um how are you going to spend the coming months because you're in a different situation than some of the other races that we cover where they're really heading into these big um match-ups for the general election in swing areas like the Lehigh Valley with Bob Brooks for example. Um and I know the Working Families Party for example endorsed both him and you.

[00:05:45]So he's heading into a different situation. You're um I'm not. You're You're not heading into that situation. So, how do you spend the coming months? Are you going to be traveling the country? Are you going to other districts? What are you What are you doing now? Um I would say three things. One is making sure that um um I have the basic infrastructure to continue um um Two, I want to make sure that I can help any other candidate win um uh leading up to November 3rd. Um so, anyone who um I'm in common cause with where I can be of assistance, I want to do that because so many people showed up for me. I mean, from AOC to, you know, my colleagues in the State House and the State Senate and um you know, so many different folks have shown up for me. I want to show that love back to them if I can help them in any way. And then third, I want to prepare to be the next member of Congress for the city of of Philadelphia, talking to my colleagues, those who have were outwardly supportive, and those who stayed out of the race, who've called me uh in very good faith and say, "How, you know, how can I help you, you know, come to DC so that I can be the best member of Congress I can be." Have you heard from Congressman Dwight Evans?

[00:06:56]I've not. I've not. Um I've I've heard from Senator Street um very gracious and I look forward to continuing working with him as I have for the past 10 years in in the state legislature. Have you heard from Governor Shapiro?

[00:07:09]Yes. Yes. Yeah. We had a We had a long talk and um I look forward to working with him. Um but it's not >> his race in the fall?

[00:07:20]Yes.

[00:07:21]Absolutely.

[00:07:23]>> [laughter] >> So, would you be willing to um You know, you you guys come from different different parts of the party and now we're in a general election.

[00:07:32]This is when you know, Democrats come together. So, would you be willing to um rally progressives for him?

[00:07:40]Look, there's a couple of ways to look at this. Um one is and this kind of relates to other race similar races.

[00:07:50]Sometimes people uh are coming out to vote for someone and sometimes people are coming out to vote against someone, right? And understanding where people are makes a lot of sense. And so um um as a fellow Democrat I'm going to be supportive um of those folks who are uh doing what they can and finding common cause with them, but also knowing that their success is against a very problematic um candidate on the Republican side. Um we have a a very extremist candidate running against Josh Shapiro who cannot win. Who simply should not win.

[00:08:30]Um so how we show up really depends on the nature of that campaign. And I would say the same is true of so many people came up to me and say, "How do I know you're not going to be the next Fetterman?

[00:08:42]How do I know you're not going to betray us, right?" And people are like, "Oh man, I really regret voting for Fetterman." But at the time he was the better candidate than Dr. Oz for Democrats. And so sometimes you show up in support of folks and sometimes you show up um against their their uh their rival. And there's folks who are in between. So how we show up matters and it may not be in the same ways, right?

[00:09:09]Not everyone asks for people's endorsements or so forth. Sometimes it can help, sometimes it can hurt.

[00:09:15]>> What do you tell people What did you tell people who said, "How do I know that you're not going to be the next Fetterman?" I say, "He had tweets, I have receipts."

[00:09:23]I have a 10-year track record where anything you want to see and anticipate what I'll do in Congress, you can tell based on the bills I've authored, the bills that I had enacted into law, the things I've co-sponsored, my public utterances on so many issues, how I voted, that will tell you everything you need to know about how I will govern in Congress. I'm glad you mentioned sort of how you show up because that's one of the things I wondered about and the way that you organized, do you think that is transferable to help the Democratic Party at large do a better job of getting people out or do you think it has something specifically to do with you or with the Working Families Party or or candidates endorsed by them?

[00:10:10]Well, I think I have something to do with it, but also I am benefiting from a larger movement, right? People are saying, "Oh, look what happened in New York City. Could you get a Democratic Socialist, you know, elected in Philadelphia in a very machine-run town?" Obviously, yes. I am a Democratic Socialist who's who is who'll be going to serve the city of Philadelphia in Congress. Although it in a specific part of the city that didn't include, for example, the Northeast and that sort of thing.

[00:10:38]The demographics of the third congressional district are pretty diverse. They include white working-class folk. They include um all sorts of folks. Um so, you know, I also don't believe in, you know, these arbitrary political boundaries. I'm going to be the bonus rep of a lot of people who do not feel seen or heard um in electoral politics or governance. And I want to represent them, too, all communities of struggle because I will be a federal um official, right? That makes policies that impact the nation and the world. So, I think that because of the spirit of the times, people want to be involved in things to give them a sense of agency and hope that we can do something that's going to make our little part of the world a better place. And you have to have that energy, you have to have that vision, and that collaborative spirit to allow for that to happen. The reason I think the results were so significant um for my candidacy was because there was a level of engagement and exuberance and joy in this journey. And we have to hold fast to those things when we are in our darkest moments. We have to be the light and bring people on and I believe that's what my campaign has done and I believe that will be transferable on the national level because there's so many other folks doing it. It's not just me.

[00:12:01]We're seeing these these victories um based in movement happening all over the country and it is infectious in the most meaningful ways.

[00:12:10]Here in Philadelphia, um the district attorney posted a video this morning. I don't know, have you seen it?

[00:12:17]>> Oh, I saw it.

[00:12:17]>> Okay. Um it is calling for the chair of the local Philadelphia Democratic Party, Bob Brady, to step aside.

[00:12:26]Um Do you agree?

[00:12:30]I mean, that's a first step, but it's not the most important. I don't believe that I don't believe in entrenched power. I don't believe anyone should be in a seat for decades. I think that is I don't think that's a good thing.

[00:12:43]Uh I think we need to uh have a deep bench. We need to cultivate new leadership, bring people in. That's why I didn't run for re-election. Now we have someone who'll be coming into my position who's 20 years younger than me, who'll be starting his own path.

[00:12:58]The bigger issue with the Democratic machine is that it's a machine. All political machines, whether they're Democrat or Republican, suburban or rural, um or urban, is about concentration of power. My campaign proved that what really needs to happen is the diffusion of political power, bringing people in. And anytime we just have a concentration of power where the ideology is Democratic incumbency, it will fail the people. If it were that effective, why do we keep losing elections? We lost every single statewide election in 2024. We have lower voter turnout except for this one.

[00:13:39]Um in consistent election cycles. If they were so powerful and so effective, why did I keep winning? Why did I get into Congress? And so, here's the thing. We need a transformation of the very structure of the Philadelphia Democratic Party. And what does that look like? It has to be accountable and transparent.

[00:13:59]It has to be modernized. We have to actually go out to those folks who should be Democrats because our platform speaks more to them than anyone else. We have to reach out to unaffiliated voters who have left the Democratic Party because they're tired of establishment politics. I have a bill in the statehouse that has [clears throat] open primaries, but most of my Democratic colleagues don't support it because it makes them have to work harder. Well, we should work harder to earn and re-earn the respect and uh support of our voters. So, there all kinds of electoral changes that need to happen, but in terms of the structure itself, the Democratic machine needs to cease to exist and transform itself into something that actually brings people in that has a democratic process. The irony is the Democratic Party is fiercely anti-democratic.

[00:14:54]So, what's the next step on that? I mean, you you're going to have a new job in Washington, but you also have a new role in Democratic Yes. um Philadelphia politics, which could affect state politics, which could affect national politics. It's all a big circle.

[00:15:07]>> It's all yes. So, what's the next step for the for the party here in Philly, do you think? Well, >> mind. every 4 years we elect committee people. They are the foot soldiers of the party. I I a committee person for 18 years and a ward leader for 3 years.

[00:15:25]A month after the primary all of the 66 political wards across the city come together to determine who their next ward leaders will be.

[00:15:36]Those folks need to demand as newly elected democratic committee people and those ward leaders have to commit themselves to overhauling the bylaws of the city committee to make sure that it's open, that it's modernized, that it's based on equity and inclusion. And unless and until that happens, it doesn't matter who who stays at the top or who's new. If the structure itself is problematic, we're not going to get different results. So even if Bob Brady were to resign, that's the first step, but that's not the most important. We need a total transformation and there other entities that we can look to to see how they do it where it is more open and transparent and accountable. That's what we need to do. We need systemic change and that's not about changing who's at the top. It's about organizing from the bottom which goes back to how I won.

[00:16:31]Grassroots organizing and mobilizing folks and making sure that their fingerprints are on the blueprints for success.

[00:16:40]More to come on politics and on policy and we'll stay in touch with you.

[00:16:44]Thank you.

[00:16:44]>> Thanks for your time. You can find more Battleground Politics on our website nbc10.com, on our NBC Philadelphia YouTube page or wherever you get your podcasts.

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