Pa. primary election: Chris Rabb wins in contentious 3rd District race; Democratic nominees set in key swing districts

Judy Trombetta, a Haverford Township commissioner, has defeated longtime Democratic incumbent State Rep. Greg Vitali for his Delaware-County based seat.

Trombetta, who is also a Montgomery County staffer, ran a well-funded campaign with the overwhelming support of the Delaware County Democratic Committee. Four years ago, the party also backed a primary challenger to Vitali’s seat.

As of earlier this month, she significantly outraised and outspent Vitali.

Sierra McNeil, a social worker backed by the progressive Pennsylvania Working Families Party, has won the Democratic primary in the 195th House District, ousting incumbent State Rep. Keith Harris from his seat representing parts of North Philadelphia.

McNeil is a Strawberry Mansion resident and Temple alumna, and her platform is focused in part on improving public transit, violence prevention, energy affordability, and public education.

She is the president of the National Association of Social Workers and was formerly the director of workforce development at the Family Training and Advocacy Center.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro laid out the stakes for his reelection bid and Democratic campaigns up and down the ballot in Pennsylvania Tuesday night.

Speaking to a raucous crowd at The Fuge in Bucks County, he took jabs at President Donald Trump and said Democratic wins can put a check on the president's controversial policies and, as the governor calls it, "corruption."

"We're angry that this country that we love so much feels like it's slipping away, that the values that we hold dear being squandered by a president and his band of enablers hellbent on injecting chaos, cruelty, and corruption into our lives every day," Shapiro said in his roughly 20-minute speech.

Ala Stanford, ending her bid for the 3rd Congressional District seat, told her election night supporters that she was hopeful for the future and thankful for her faith.

"To me, doing this work is an extension of the mission I have had my entire life — to improve the lives of others," the physician and public health leader said.

"I had something to give, and that will not change," she continued.

State Sen. Sharif Street addressed supporters just after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Laborers’ Local 332, conceding the 3rd Congressional District primary to opponent Chris Rabb. 

What had been a raucous gathering earlier in the night had slowly lost steam as results came in. The crowd had dipped significantly — as had the mood — by the time Street arrived. By the time he addressed supporters, around 10:30, only a few dozen remained at the venue.

Joined by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Street thanked his supporters and offered congratulations to both Rabb and Ala Stanford while vowing to continue working. 

State Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democratic socialist who has repeatedly challenged Philadelphia’s establishment Democrats, has won the tightly contested 3rd Congressional District primary — a striking victory for the city’s left-leaning coalition after a combative and rare open contest.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:43 p.m. on Tuesday. Rabb, a five-term state lawmaker from East Mount Airy, defeated two other top contenders in the tight race, according to unofficial returns.

In the bluest district in the country, the result sets Rabb on an almost guaranteed path to succeeding U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, who is retiring after a decade in the seat. Rabb’s election would mark a significant shift from half of Philadelphia voters being represented by a more mainstream Democratic voice to one in the most left-wing faction of Congress.

State Rep. Chris Rabb, a self-styled “radical” progressive who has repeatedly challenged Philadelphia’s establishment Democrats, has won the tightly contested 3rd Congressional District primary — a striking victory for the city’s most left-leaning coalition after an increasingly fraught and rare open contest.

In one of the bluest districts in the country, the result sets the five-term state lawmaker from East Mount Airy on an almost guaranteed path to succeeding U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, who is retiring after a decade in the seat. Rabb’s election would mark a significant shift from half of Philadelphia voters being represented by a more mainstream Democratic voice to one in the most left-wing faction of Congress.

Rabb, 56, describes himself as a democratic socialist. His platform focused on railing against establishment and “status quo” politicians, though all of the major candidates vying for the 3rd District seat supported progressive policies like Medicare for All and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

State Rep. Chris Rabb declared victory during a raucous election night party on Tuesday night at about 10:30 p.m., saying in remarks to his supporters that “we won” the Democratic nomination to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District.

The Associated Press had not yet called the race in Rabb’s favor. However, Rabb spoke to a crowd of supporters who erupted in cheers as his victory appeared near, according to unofficial returns.

“I believe! I believe! I believe that we have won!” Rabb chanted.

After walking out to Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia," Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie took Democrats gathered at Gov. Josh Shapiro's primary night event at The Fuge back to the classroom.

Harvie, a former history teacher and department chair at Bucks County Technical High School, said he could not imagine what he'd be teaching his students now during President Donald Trump's administration.

"I don't recognize this country anymore and what we stand for," he said.

What had been a lively scene earlier in the night gave way to a more subdued atmosphere Tuesday at a gathering of supporters for State Sen. Sharif Street as results trickled in for the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary.

More than 100 people packed the Laborers’ Local 332 in the hour after city polls closed for the night, but the crowd had thinned by 10 p.m., as election results showed Street trailing opponent Chris Rabb by nearly 10,000 votes with 60% of the turnout tabulated. 

Street, one of four candidates battling for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd District, had yet to appear at the event as of 10:15 p.m., but the room was still bustling with people in “Sharif Street for Congress” T-shirts. 

Chris Johnson, a staffer for the School District of Philadelphia, has won the Democratic primary to fill State Rep. Chris Rabb’s open seat representing Mount Airy in Harrisburg.

Rabb did not seek reelection to the seat as he mounted a run for Congress.

Johnson, the director of state and federal government relations for the school district, won the 200th Pennsylvania House District with a campaign message focused on investing in education and SEPTA and promoting economic development and civil rights. He also received backing from Democrats across the ideological spectrum, including Rabb, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and the Pennsylvania Working Families Party.

Longtime Pittsburgh attorney Jason Richey will serve as the nominee for lieutenant governor in the Republican battle to unseat Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis this fall.

Richey, who serves as chair of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, was Stacy Garrity's pick for lieutenant governor. Garrity previously referred to him as an "incredible running mate" and potential "terrific partner in governing" should the pair be elected in November.

Richey announced his candidacy in January, and Garrity quickly endorsed him — as did the state GOP. His win came following a previous bid in the 2022 GOP primary for governor, during which he ultimately withdrew and did not appear on the ballot.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a key suburban swing district Tuesday night, setting up a contentious matchup with incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) this fall.

Harvie defeated Lucia Simonelli, a grassroots candidate and climate policy expert in the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County, The Associated Press projected at 9:44 p.m.

Harvie and Fitzpatrick, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, will now face off in what will likely be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country.

In the most closely watched competitive primary among the four targeted Pennsylvania districts this year, union leader and retired firefighter Bob Brooks won the Democratic nomination in the Lehigh Valley-based 7th District.

His victory over three other viable candidates is a win for Gov. Josh Shapiro and a long list of other state and national Democrats who recruited and then threw their political weight behind him. Both Brooks and his supporters made the race almost entirely focused on his persona and background as a working-class outsider who they believed can win in a crucial swing seat.

The district includes the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton while also stretching into the more Republican-leaning Poconos and rural Carbon and Monroe counties. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R., Lehigh) is seeking a second term after narrowly defeating a three-term incumbent Democrat in the wave of President Donald Trump’s second election.

It was news important enough for a DJ to pause "Uptown Funk."

A recent dump of votes showed Ala Stanford holding the lead, and supporters illuminated by neon green and pink lights — the physician's campaign color scheme — whooped and hollered upon learning the news.

But within minutes, around 9:40, another batch of votes came in: Rep. Chris Rabb had not only closed in on Stanford, but had taken the lead.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a key suburban swing district Tuesday night, setting up a contentious matchup with incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) this fall.

Harvie defeated Lucia Simonelli, a grassroots candidate and climate policy expert in the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.

Harvie and Fitzpatrick, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, will now face off in what will likely be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country.

Like much of State Rep. Chris Rabb’s wardrobe and campaign material in the race for the Philadelphia congressional district, his election night party in Northwest Philadelphia was awash in purple as supporters eagerly awaited results in the first hour after polls closed.

More than 150 people — some dressed in purple Rabb for Congress campaign merch and holding campaign signs of the same color — were mingling, eating and drinking at the Victorian Banquet Hall, lit up in purple spotlights.

Rabb, a democratic socialist looking to give the city’s progressive flank a major win, appeared from a balcony overlooking the room about an hour and 20 minutes after polls closed but did not address the crowd, which started chanting “Rabb! Rabb! Rabb!” when they saw him.

It's Taco Tuesday for Ala Stanford's campaign. 

Guests trickling in to the North Philadelphia Welcome Center for the congressional candidate's election night party are being met with the delectible wiff of Mexican food and the smooth sounds of throwback R&B. 

Polls are officially closed, but so far, there's no reason for the physician's supporters to eat their feelings. Early returns show Stanford at the top of the pack, though the race remains too close too call.

Democrat Janelle Stelson will face Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for a rematch in the fall after winning the primary Tuesday for a key Pennsylvania swing seat.

Stelson, 65, defeated Justin Douglas, chair of the Dauphin County Commissioners, in the race to face Perry in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland Counties, The Associated Press projected Tuesday.

Stelson, a former broadcast journalist and former Republican, kept her primary campaign focused on defeating Perry, just as she did when she won a crowded primary in 2024.

Democrats took an early victory lap Tuesday night almost 30 minutes after the polls closed in Pennsylvania.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero took to the stage at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s primary night event and said more Democrats than Republicans had turned out to the polls in Tuesday’s primary. If the party keeps that up in November, it would be a “blue tsunami,” he said.

The Pennsylvania Democrats gathered at The Fuge, sipping their drinks and mingling, cheered.

There are few opportunities quite like election day when a large segment of Philadelphia’s politicians are gathered in one spot to schmooze — and are open to answering some uncomfortable questions.

So The Inquirer took advantage of that chance during the annual election day lunch at South Restaurant and Jazz Club on North Broad Street. Reporters asked a handful of Democratic elected officials and operatives there three questions about the state of politics. And some of them didn’t even dodge.

Tuesday’s questions were:

Gov. Josh Shapiro and his Republican challenger, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, have a lot to prove over the next six months.

And come November, more than the governor’s race will be on the line for both. Shapiro, a rumored 2028 presidential aspirant, wants to deliver Democratic control of the U.S. House to flex his political muscle as Democrats seek a new standard-bearer for the party.

Garrity will need to generate excitement that draws GOP voters to the polls in key congressional districts to stop Democratic midterm gains — and prove to the state GOP that members made the right choice by endorsing her 15 months before Election Day as a more serious challenger to Shapiro.

Fall matchups in four of the Philadelphia region's local congressional districts are now official.

In the 2nd District, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle will face off against GOP challenger Jessica Arriaga. Boyle is in his sixth term in the House, while Arriaga is a North Philadelphia native who has worked as a healthcare professional for decades.

Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, meanwhile, will take on Republican candidate Aurora Stuski in the 4th District. Stuski is a resident of West Norriton and local business owner who is challenging Dean, who has held her House seat since 2019.

With no one challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in his respective primary, Republicans in the 7th Congressional District reflected on his first term and looked ahead as they waited to hear who the Democratic nominee would be.

“He's very aware of the issues, fighting for the people, and focused on getting results,” said Frank Kuyan, 68, of Northampton County's Hanover Township. “You're not going to see him getting on Fox or CNN.”

Kuyan pointed to how Mackenzie has broken with the party, voting for a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits “because that's what senior citizens care about.” 

The evening hour brought a stream of voters to Arch Street Presbyterian Church near City Hall on Tuesday night, just 60 minutes before polling was set to close at 8 p.m. 

Some throughout the day had wondered openly whether the sky-high temperatures would affect voter turnout, but by 7 p.m., the sun had begun to set and a breeze had begun to circulate near the church’s entrance. 

Three voters who spoke to The Inquirer shared their support for State Sen. Sharif Street, describing him as the candidate most likely to get things accomplished in Washington. 

Daniel Iero, 72, of South Philly cast his vote for Democrats down the ballot at the Marconi Plaza Bocce Courts polling location, where the breakdown of Republican and Democratic voters is nearly 50/50.

While Marconi’s precinct didn’t have a contentious congressional race like others in South Philadelphia, Iero came out to vote anyway like he does for every election. As a staunch Democrat, every election for Iero has been to put more Democrats in power to oppose the polices of President Donald Trump and the GOP.

“It's pretty obvious why I’m voting Democrat. I don't like the Republicans or Trump at all,” Iero said.

Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday that an incident where an explosive device was thrown out of a moving vehicle, near a church entrance in Lehigh County's Catasauqua Borough, is not believed to be related to voting.

The incident took place around 9:15 a.m., according to authorities, raising alarm because of the proximity to the Salem United Church of Christ, which is doubling as a polling location on election day.

No one was injured during the incident and voting continued throughout the day, despite the closure of a couple of blocks. 

Elizabeth Gunto is no fan of Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

But the 38-year-old Chris Rabb voter is an ardent Democrat, and said she ticked the governor's name on her ballot in Northwest Philadelphia Tuesday evening — putting her dour opinion of his politics aside in favor of party loyalty. 

"I think [Shapiro] stinks," said Gunto, who is from Texas and moved to Pennsylvania two years ago. "I think he's a Democrat in name only, which I guess you have to be in a swing state." 

High heat and low turnout amounted to a slow day in Philly’s election court, where just a handful of election day disputes had been filed as of Tuesday evening.

A bevy of open committeeperson slots, elected positions that serve as the appointed foot soldiers for political parties, led to several complaints of unendorsed candidates handing out bogus campaign literature.

In Northeast Philly’s 55th Ward, a judge ordered the removal of a stack of sample ballots endorsing two write-in candidates for a Democratic committeeperson because they lacked a disclaimer indicating who paid for the fliers.

On a stifling afternoon in Center City Tuesday, voters offered an array of opinions on the four candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. 

Citing numerous issues of interest — education, healthcare, closing the wealth gap — residents of the William Penn House near Rittenhouse Square arrived in a steady trickle to cast their ballots in a tightly contested race. 

“Really, I can’t lose with any of [them],” said Anne Brennan, 75, a retired federal employee who ultimately cast her ballot for State Rep. Chris Rabb. “In that group, I’m really OK.” 

Democrat voters in Bucks County seemed optimistic that Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie could flip U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s seat and help inch the Democrats closer to a majority in the House of Representatives.

Kris Walski, a 37-year-old real estate agent who rolled out of Bensalem High School in a wheelchair around 1 p.m. on Tuesday after casting his ballot, said he considers Harvie a friend. They ran in similar circles when Walski campaigned for a state House seat two election cycles ago, he said. 

Walski said Harvie’s background as a teacher and county commissioner and his general demeanor give him full faith he's the man to take on Fitzpatrick.

Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate running unopposed for governor in Tuesday’s primary, urged voters to support her running mate Jason Richey, a Pittsburgh lawyer facing a contested primary.

Garrity was speaking with a handful of voters outside a polling place in a firehouse near Harrisburg, as part of numerous stops Tuesday around central Pennsylvania.

Garrity, the state treasurer elected to a second term in 2024, has focused her campaign on Pennsylvania’s mediocrity under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who she will challenge in November.

Kristian Ogungbemi found it impossible to ignore recurring ads from candidates vying for the 3rd Congressional District seat in recent weeks, but those closing pitches didn't sway her much. 

The 33-year-old East Falls resident said she had already made up her mind to vote for Chris Rabb after hearing how he spoke about the conflict in the Gaza strip. 

"I needed the most progressive candidate," Ogungbemi said after voting in her Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood as rush hour traffic whizzed past. "I care deeply about genocide, and how people respond" to the deaths of children in the strip. 

Though all the major races on their ballots were uncontested, Republican voters in Bensalem and Levittown turned out on a scorching Tuesday afternoon to cast their ballots for Stacy Garrity, Brian Fitzpatrick, and others in the down-ballot races.

Susan Cook, 63, exited Bensalem High School around 12:15 p.m. with a stethoscope around her neck. The school nurse who works in Darby said she became a Republican in 2015 when President Donald Trump entered the scene because she loved his humor and plainspokenness, and never looked back. She cast her ballot for Brian Fitzpatrick for Congress. 

Come the general election, Cook plans on splitting with her party to vote for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, she said.

After posing for photos with some of the city’s top elected officials, State Sen. Sharif Street said Tuesday during a biannual election day lunch that he is confident in his chances to win a seat in Congress, but that he and his campaign “still have a lot to execute.”

Street, one of four Democrats on the ballot seeking the nomination to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, said his campaign prioritized get-out-the-vote operations and “direct voter contact,” meaning its election day turnout efforts are critical to the campaign’s overall strategy.

Street is also endorsed by the Democratic City Committee and most of its ward leaders, meaning hundreds of committeepeople across the city are talking with their neighbors on Street’s behalf.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said that all he wanted at Philadelphia’s traditional election day lunch — where local politicians and operatives gather to gab — was some macaroni and cheese.

But he didn’t make it in the front door.

Krasner, the third-term progressive Democrat, was escorted away from the South Restaurant and Jazz Club on Tuesday afternoon after getting into a combative argument with Ryan Boyer, the union leader who hosts the twice-yearly lunch and is considered one of the most powerful unelected people in Philadelphia.

In Pennsylvania’s primary election Tuesday, more than 1.4 million voters won’t be able to vote on candidates.

The state's closed-primary system blocks third-party and unaffiliated voters — about 17% of the electorate — from weighing in on primary election candidates. The state only allows voters registered as a Republican or Democrat to cast a ballot to nominate candidates to advance to the general election in November. (Third-party and unaffiliated voters are still allowed to vote on non-partisan ballot questions in primaries.)

Unaffiliated and third-party voters are the fastest-growing segment in Pennsylvania, as more U.S residents — 45% — identify themselves as a political independent, according to a January 2026 Gallup poll. This shift is mostly led by young people dissatisfied by the two-party system, polling shows.

Ala Stanford, entering a heavily pro-Sharif Street crowd at a traditional election day lunch for Democratic politicians, said she was confident and believed she’d come out ahead in the city’s heated three-way congressional race.

Smiling and greeting a few supporters, Stanford said she was pleased with the rate of mail ballot returns in wards she believed would see strong support.

Her election day interactions with women in particular were encouraging, Stanford said, after spending a significant portion of her campaign emphasizing that she was the only woman and mother on the ballot.

In West Philly, sometimes getting out to vote is about supporting candidates you believe in. Sometimes it's about who you know — and who your block captain is. 

That was the case outside of Hair Vyce Studio, where Catherine Blunt and Tzara Kane, who are both running for Division 9 committeepeople roles, stood outside handing literature to potential voters. 

Around lunchtime, Tammy Rose, who is “over 60,” but declined to disclose an exact number, described how she votes for every major election but doesn't always come out for the primaries. 

Across West Philly, poll workers’ hottest accessory is their water bottles.

Crowds were slow, with voters getting in and out in less than 10 minutes at spots across the 46th Ward. Some made makeshift fans with election day literature to account for polling centers lacking AC, like the Calvary United Methodist Church.

At the Gold Standard Cafe, which has served as a polling place for more than a decade, voters were able to cool off by purchasing a cold drink.

It’s lunchtime in West Mount Airy, but long lines of voters have yet to come. 

At Summit Presbyterian Church, committee members hoped for a lunch rush. The building houses three divisions for the 22nd Ward. But in the last hour, only one person has voted. 

But the slowdown is not what it seems, said judge of elections Cynthia Albrecht, who noted 69% of folks usually vote at the location during primaries.

A court has granted a 30-minute voting extension at a Chester County polling location Tuesday after voting activities were paused briefly at a school, officials said. 

The extension will affect voters at Owen J. Roberts Middle School in South Coventry. No other county polling places are impacted, officials said. 

The Court of Common Pleas granted the extension until 8:30 p.m.; voting after 8 p.m. will be done using provisional ballots, county officials said. 

Crowd control hasn’t been a major issue in recent primaries, at least in Philadelphia.

Last May, only 17% of the city’s eligible voters decided to cast ballots, despite the high-profile and acrimonious district attorney’s race in the Democratic primary, won by incumbent Larry Krasner.

That was a so-called off-year election in which congressional or presidential races weren’t on the ballot.

At Lower Merion High School, one Democrat and one Republican, both named Maureen, came to the polls armed with different views on whether Gov. Josh Shapiro deserves another term in Harrisburg.

“I like him,” said Maureen Schutz, 83, a retiree who lives in Wynnewood.

“Especially with the bridge coming down right when he was first elected. It was done so fast,” said Schutz, a Democrat, praising Shapiro’s 12-day repair of a collapsed section of I-95 in 2023.

For some Democrats, keeping their party in office was a significant force as they cast their ballots Tuesday. 

Maegan Staats, 42, brings her 6-year-old daughter Scarlet to every election. She was thinking of Scarlet, and her rights, as she cast her ballot in West Chester to keep Democrats in office.

Staats said Scarlet asked her to “please vote for a better president next time.”

In Chestnut Hill, voters are divided on who they want representing them in the 3rd Congressional District.

Scott Hanson, 57, is a lifelong Democrat and considers himself a progressive. The college professor sees this election as a chance to bring back humanity into politics. 

From immigration to women's issues, LGBTQ+ rights and inflation, Hanson can’t single out a point that brought him to the polls. In his view, “Things don’t feel great right now,” Hanson said. 

At about 9:20 a.m., Gov. Josh Shapiro emerged from a black Chevy Suburban, took his wife’s hand, and strolled toward the front doors of Rydal West Elementary School in Montgomery County to cast his ballot, shaking hands and patting backs along the way.

After wrapping up his ballot, he assured Steven Gable, a Democratic committee member and write-in candidate who was canvassing outside, “I voted for you, I think you're all set.” Shapiro then met with reporters to discuss the importance of Tuesday’s primary.

He reminded Pennsylvanians they'll play an outsized role in this midterm cycle, thanks to four competitive congressional races, and urged voters to not take that responsibility lightly.

In Coatesville, voters on Tuesday morning awaited polls to open at the West End Fire Company. Before 8 a.m., roughly a dozen voters had cast their ballots.

Though several said that voting in every election was their priority, President Donald Trump loomed large.

“(He’s) cutting programs that help people who need to be helped. It’s just an entire mess. This is the United States; I’m a veteran. I feel some kind of way,” said Democratic voter Bernard Owens, 68, who works for the Coatesville VA Medical Center. “I put my life on the line for the country. And this is what I got to go through, with a president who is trying to separate all the people.”

Accompanied by her three sons, Ala Stanford arrived at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting Skyspace to cast her vote.

It’s a special day, she said. Not only is the pediatric surgeon running in a highly competitive election for Philadelphia’s open seat in Congress, witness her 18-year-old son, Ellison Frey, become a first time voter on the ballot she is on.

After months of campaigning, Stanford feels encouraged of her chances at winning the race, and hopes voters feel the same.

After casting his ballot in Northwest Philadelphia early Tuesday morning, State Rep. Chris Rabb, the democratic socialist who some polls have showed is leading the field to win a seat in Congress, said he wasn't sitting comfortably heading into election day.

“I don’t trust polls,” said Rabb, who is one of three frontrunners in the Democratic primary to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. “The most important poll is the one at the polls, and that's the voters, that's the electorate. And I will accede to their collective resolve.”

In an interview with reporters gathered outside Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church, Rabb said he was “exhausted, but exhilarated” after 10 months of campaigning.

A new policy adopted by the Philadelphia County Board of Elections in February could pose a road block for write-in campaigns for the lowest level elected positions up for grabs in Tuesday’s primary: Committeepersons.

Aspiring committeepersons running write-in campaigns will not only have to win a plurality of votes, as in the past, they will also have to garner at least 10 votes.

The change, which has been backed by the city and the two major parties in Philadelphia, has proved controversial with some Republicans, who argue write-in campaigns are necessary in divisions where there are not enough registered members of the party to get on the ballot.

It's Election Day in Philadelphia, with some high-stakes contests on the primary ballot.

Registered Democratic voters in much of the city will be weighing in on the ultra-competitive primary to fill the open seat in Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District after U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Philadelphia) retires at the end of his current term.

Philadelphia voters will also weigh in on two ballot questions.

This year, voters in Philadelphia will be asked to answer two ballot questions:

Home Rule Charter Question

“Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board to oversee a defined contribution retirement program for the benefit of eligible private-sector workers, and to authorize City Council to determine the composition, powers and duties of the board?”

Pennsylvania voters who requested mail ballots for Tuesday's primaries still have time to get them in — if they avoid the mail box.

All completed mail ballots must be returned to county elections boards or a county drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday in order to be counted.

"If you still have your mail ballot and you have not returned it yet, do not put it in the mail," Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt said in a news conference Monday. "Take it to a Board of Elections office in your county or Board of Elections drop box and return it in person."

Voters who experience any former of intimidation while voting Tuesday are urged to call a hotline set up by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The number is 1-877-VOTES-PA (1-877-868-3772).

"Voters have rights protected by federal and state laws, and voter intimidation and coercion are illegal," Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt said during a news conference Monday.

Schmidt said voters can also report any acts of intimidation to the judge of elections at their polling place, their county elections office, or their local district attorney's office.

This might not be the hottest primary election in Pennsylvania’s history, but it may well be the hottest primary day on record from Erie International Airport to PHL.

Philadelphia’s forecast high of 97 degrees might make a run at being the warmest May day, period, in the 150-plus years that the government has been keeping score.

Pittsburgh is heading for the low 90s, according to the National Weather Service, which would flirt with setting a new mark, and Altoona is likely to record a new high, around 90 degrees..