Reclaim Philadelphia's Post 2025 Primary Analysis
Last Tuesday, a majority of Philadelphians voted for decarceration, accountability, affordable housing, and restorative justice that makes us safer and freer.
With the re-election victory of Reclaim member endorsed Larry Krasner, voters have set a mandate for our city to continue forward with a transformative vision of community safety. A vision with second chances at its core that has resulted in both the lowest number of homicides and lowest jail population that we have seen in decades.
Reclaim volunteers canvassed our neighbors for weeks, and what we kept hearing at doors hinted at the win to come. 64% of Philly voters supported Krasner! He again carried neighborhoods across the city—specifically communities most impacted by gun violence and mass incarceration.
Krasner’s three-peat was powered by small dollar donations from Philly residents like you and me. He ran a campaign that targeted Trump’s fascist regime and with a record to back it up. He unapologetically told those who opposed him to #FAFO this election, and they most certainly did. Super PACs led by deep-pocketed greedy developers and building trades unions pushing real estate interests that gentrify our cities failed miserably. Wards led by conservative leaning Democrats in the 8th and 60th learned that their endorsements do not reflect the will of their voters. We doubt the efforts from the local Republican party to encourage its voters to write-in Krasner's opponent as a Republican will sway him after this walloping. Which all but guarantees that Krasner will be our next District Attorney!
Voters also came out citywide to support all three Reclaim recommended ballot measures that would create oversight for Philadelphia’s deadly and mismanaged prisons, provide support and accountability for the unhoused, and create real ongoing commitments from developers to affordable housing in the city. We want to thank Councilmembers Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Jamie Gauthier, and Isaiah Thomas for championing these ballot measures. These victories show that Philadelphians believe in supporting and defending the most vulnerable residents in our city – be they poor, unhoused, or incarcerated. Because we know many of us are just one bill or one mistake away from being in the same position.
We also want to celebrate our wins in the judicial races. Our member endorsed Municipal Court slate prevailed with the victories of Amanda Davidson, Sherrie Cohen, and Cortez Patton! In the race for Court of Common Pleas, 6 of the 7 candidates we supported in our slate including Will Braveman, Sarah Jones, Kia Ghee, Irina Ehrlich, Larry Farnese, and Brian Kisielewski won! We trust these judges to bring a fair and just lens to Philly courts in the 1st Judicial District. With Cohen’s win, we celebrate another LGBTQ voice on our courts and movement ally elected into office. Cohen has been a longtime Reclaim member and consistently showed up to knock doors and march with us. She was able to win despite being massively outspent because of the people-powered coalition she built of progressive organizations and open wards in the city. We also want to take time to thank Taniesha Henry and Mike Huff for putting up a hard fight and inspiring us with their campaigns. We look forward to seeing what they will do in the future.
Our recommended Commonwealth Court candidate Stella Tsai cruised to victory in her primary with no challengers. The real fight now begins to elect her in the November general election as well as making sure we preserve the Democratic majority on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. We are already seeing Republican billionaires investing heavily in this race to defeat Democrats because they know the courts are our last line of defense against Donald Trump and MAGA’s goal to overturn reproductive rights in our state. Both the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and the richest man in Pennsylvania, Jeffrey Yass, have already poured millions into this race. But we know from recent results in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race that we CAN win this, together!
If the primaries have shown us anything, it’s that Philadelphia's Democratic establishment isn’t supporting or inspiring people to take action. Right now, we are in a political moment where so many Democrats are looking for real leaders to stand up to Trump’s regime. Krasner's massive popularity in this election proves the need for real leaders is growing. Embarrassingly, our party wimped out on supporting him for a third landslide primary win in a row. Instead, they spent most of this election challenging local Democratic judicial candidates to knock them off the ballot so voters would have fewer options in races Democrats are already guaranteed to win this November.
Turnout was only about 16.5% this election, lower than the primaries in 2017 and 2021. When asked about the alarmingly low turnout, Bob Brady, Chair of Philadelphia's democratic party, ignored this warning sign and said, "Turnout doesn't bother me, only bothers me that we win." What we should be bothered about is that too many of our neighbors feel disengaged and disinvested from by both major political parties in the city. This should be a wake-up call for Brady and other Democratic party leaders who seem more invested in defeating progressives in primaries than defeating Republicans in general elections.
Reclaim is invested in providing an alternative for the voters and residents of Philadelphia. We’re proud of the work we do each election through our member endorsement process, doorknocking, and civic education for the public. We’re also excited about evaluating and strengthening these organizing tools that are proven to motivate people to reject apathy and the “Philly shrug.”
We invite you to take on leadership with us to continue building power for working class people. Join our Movement Politics Taskforce to support our field work, civic education on the state court races, and endorsement process for next year’s primary. Are you a practicing or retired lawyer, or studying law in college? Help us build a movement lawyer squad to enhance our judicial endorsement process, ensure our candidates qualify for the ballot, and build a bench of candidates who can run for judge themselves in the future! And lastly, we ask that you commit to becoming a dues-paying member or reflect on whether you’re able to increase your dues if already a member.
We know that when people are engaged and brought into the work,they are more likely to understand the power of the ballot. We have huge battles coming up and we’re going to need your help! We already mentioned the fight for control of our courts this November but we are also strategizing on how to fight for control of our state and national houses in next year’s consequential midterm elections. We can’t wait any longer for the Democratic status quo to save us. It’s time for us to be the change we want to see. It’s time to take our party back! Will you join us?
In Solidarity,
Sergio Cea
Political Director