Philadelphia mayoral race: Cherelle Parker wins Democratic primary as party spars over crime approach
Brady Knox
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Cherelle Parker won the Democratic primary for the Philadelphia mayoral race, setting her up to likely be elected in the general election in November.
Voters rejected Helen Gym, a more progressive candidate than Parker, who took home 32.9% of the vote, compared with Gym’s 20.7%. If elected to become the city’s 100th mayor, as is expected, Parker will be the first woman to serve in the role.
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The primary field was highly crowded; a total of nine candidates were on the ballot. Of those, the five most favored were ShopRite franchise owner Jeff Brown, former City Councilmember Allan Domb, Gym, a former city councilmember, Parker, also a former City councilmember, and Rebecca Rhynhart, the former city controller, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Rhynhart took home 22.3% of the vote Tuesday.
Brown has staked much of his campaign on being an outsider; he is the only major candidate to have never held elected office. Instead, he has touted his business experience as an ideal governing model, touching on some of his experience to deal with issues such as fighting poverty and re-integrating former inmates.
Domb, who christened himself the “condo king,” was banking on a more centrist approach. He has called for tax cuts for businesses, a tough-on-crime approach, and a reduction in wasteful spending.
Gym was this race’s progressive candidate. In a 2019 interview, Gym decried capitalism as an “immoral system” that “runs counter to a human rights agenda.” She also said that “White supremacy and patriarchy are pillars of our unjust, unequal order,” and has vowed to “tear those systems down.” Additionally, she expressed support for Minneapolis’s efforts to abolish its police department, and refused to condemn the rioting following the death of George Floyd.
Gym was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), according to Vox.
A Gym victory would be a major win for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party; continuing a streak of victories in large cities, most recently with the election of Brandon Johnson in Chicago.
Parker was considered the establishment candidate, and relatively centrist. She has pushed back against the progressive wing of the party, even calling for an increase in police funding.
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Rhynhart was considered liberal; more centrist than Gym but more progressive than Brown, Domb, and Parker. She has made much of her campaign based around maximizing efficiency, pointing to her experience as city controller.
Attorney David Oh ran uncontested in the Republican primary. There hasn’t been a Republican mayor of the city since 1952.