Anonymous texts attacking Chris Rabb came from Street campaign and Democratic Party
The texts violated federal election rules by failing to state who was behind them.
Days before Tuesday’s primary election, anonymous texts bombarded Philadelphia voters with attacks on 3rd Congressional District candidate Chris Rabb — accusing him of spreading conspiracy theories and holding extremist views.
The unsigned texts violated federal election rules by failing to clearly state who sent them: Philadelphia’s Democratic City Committee, which is coordinating with State Sen. Sharif Street’s campaign after he won the official endorsement of the party, according to a Street campaign spokesperson.
Federal Election Commission rules state that campaign communications to voters, including texts, “must identify the person who paid for it and state that it was authorized by the candidate or campaign.”
Street spokesperson Anthony Campisi confirmed the origins of the texts on Monday, but said the campaign had no control over the DCC’s communications.
Party chair Bob Brady, a former member of Congress, denied any involvement with the text campaign.
“We did not pay for any of them,” Brady said. “This is the first time I am seeing these.”
The negative texts targeting Rabb, a state representative who is one of three front-runners in the 3rd Congressional District race, were familiar territory in a campaign season that has seen plenty of mudslinging.
One text mentioned a since-deleted social media post made by Rabb that claimed the antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in Australia was a “false flag” event orchestrated by “Zionists.”
Another referenced his support for leftist political commentator Hasan Piker, who has campaigned with Rabb. Others depicted an AI-generated image of Rabb acknowledging his supposed lack of legislative accomplishments in Harrisburg.
“Chris Rabb has embraced controversy and online extremism over serious leadership,” read one of the unsigned messages.
While violations of the FEC disclosure rules typically result in small fines, the lack of a “paid for” tag drew eye rolls from longtime election watchers in Philadelphia.
Other political observers viewed the texts as a sign of uncertainty ahead of the primary election in Philadelphia. A highly competitive race is unusual in one of the bluest districts in the U.S. — and there is still no clear front-runner among the top three candidates with the election just hours away.
Rabb, a progressive who has long jockeyed with the local Democratic Party, is running against Street, a moderate state senator and influential party figure. Also running is Ala Stanford, a physician with deep-pocketed backing from a “pro-science” super PAC.
Outside interest groups have spent millions on television ads and other campaign materials backing the three candidates, who each have professionalized campaign teams that would be aware of federal disclosure rules around spending.
Rabb described the text campaign as disappointing.
“There’s a reason for these rules — and unfortunately we’re not likely to know whom we can attribute these negative messages until after [the election], if at all,” he said Monday.
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