Self-funding physicians, candidates trying to keep up, and a frontrunner: Inside the money race for a Philly congressional seat

State Sen. Sharif Street maintained his financial advantage. Physicians Ala Stanford and David Oxman have turned to self-funding their campaigns. And State Reps. Chris Rabb and Morgan Cephas are low on cash — but one might be getting help soon.

The crowded Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District is beginning to come into focus after the candidates this weekend filed new campaign finance reports. The filings cover the last three months of 2025, providing insights into the candidates’ resources as the campaign heats up.

Fundraising will not be the only factor that determines the outcome of the May primary election, which will ultimately be decided by voters. But the 3rd District candidates need money to pay staff and buy advertisements to spread their message, and the beginning of an election year is often a pivotal time for campaigns to prove their viability.

After U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Philadelphia) last year announced he would not seek reelection to the nation’s bluest district, more than a dozen candidates tossed their hats in the ring. It’s likely some will not stay in the race long enough to appear on the May 19 primary ballot.

The 3rd District includes all of Northwest and West Philadelphia, as well as parts of Center City and North, South, and Southwest Philadelphia.

Street, a former chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and the son of former Mayor John F. Street, continues to use his connections to his advantage when it comes to fundraising.

Street led the field by raising about $347,000 from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 of last year, according to his report. His campaign spent $193,000 during that period, and he had $527,000 in cash on hand at the start of 2026.

Campaign manager Josh Uretsky said Street’s fundraising totals “demonstrate that our strong track record of progressive leadership — from lowering health care costs to leading the fight to legalize recreational cannabis and reform our justice system — is resonating in every corner of the district."

Street has benefited from contributions from the deep-pocketed building trades unions, which endorsed him last fall. In the past, those unions have also funded outside spending committees, or super PACs, to support their preferred candidates, and it’s likely they’ll do the same for Street this spring.

Street collected more than $40,000 from labor groups in the most recent reporting period.

Last month, it appeared that Stanford, a pediatric surgeon, was raking in cash when her campaign released a statement saying she had raised more than $467,000, a significant haul for a first-time candidate. The campaign said at the time that her fundraising prowess “solidifies [her] leading role” in the race.

But it turns out that more than half of the money the campaign brought in came from Stanford herself. The new report showed that Stanford lent her campaign $250,000 on Dec. 31, the last day of the reporting period, bringing her total cash on hand to about $392,000 at the end of the year.

In a statement Monday, Stanford emphasized her humble upbringing in North Philadelphia public housing, saying she “never imagined being in this position, but this city has given me so much.”

Her campaign noted that she also invested her own money in her nonprofit organization, the Black Doctors Consortium, to bolster the city’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs during the height of the pandemic.

“I’ve stood up and led during a crisis before — and spent my own money to do it — so I’m going do whatever it takes to fight for our city,” Stanford said. “I’m incredibly grateful that in just the first few months of our campaign, that commitment has been matched with amazing grassroots financial support, too, and we’re just getting started.”

Stanford is not the only doctor self-funding their congressional campaign. Oxman, another political outsider and physician, brought in just over $107,000 between October and December — including $75,000 that he lent to his own campaign.

Oxman, an intensive-care physician and professor at Thomas Jefferson University, has lent his campaign $175,000. At the end of the year, he had $357,000 in the bank.

In a press release Sunday, Oxman emphasized that he was not accepting corporate PAC donations.

“You cannot fight for the health of the people of the 3rd district while you are taking money from nursing home companies and health insurance PACs,” Oxman said. “The corporatization of medicine is just a piece of a larger corporatization of American life that is hollowing out our economy as well as our democracy.”

Both Cephas and Rabb raised less money in the fourth quarter of 2025 than in the opening months of their campaigns, and they both closed the year with roughly $100,000 in cash on hand.

Cephas raised about $85,000 in the last three months of 2025. She collected $156,000 in the previous quarter, despite joining the race in September shortly before the filing deadline.

Cephas, who represents a West Philadelphia district and chairs the city’s delegation to the Pennsylvania House, entered the year with about $109,000 in cash on hand.

“The residents of the 3rd Congressional District are more concerned with the skyrocketing cost of living, fewer health care options, and making sure their communities are safe than who raised the most money,” Cephas campaign manager Salvatore Colleluori said. “Rep. Cephas has only one priority in this race, the residents of Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District.”

Similarly, Rabb, a progressive who represents part of Northwest Philly, took in $127,000 in the latest reporting period despite previously raising $257,000. He had $99,000 in the bank on Jan. 1.

“I’m incredibly proud of the thousands of people in Philly and across the country fueled by a movement so much bigger than electoral politics,” Rabb said. “Our momentum is undeniable. We always knew we wouldn’t outraise the corporate-backed and self-funded campaigns — and we don’t need to.”

Meanwhile, Pablo Iván McConnie-Saad — a Bella Vista resident who worked in Delaware politics before serving in the Treasury Department under former President Joe Biden — brought in a fundraising haul similar to the sitting state representatives last quarter despite his campaign largely flying under the radar.

McConnie-Saad collected $119,000 in contributions last quarter, and he had $69,000 on hand at the start of the year.

In a statement, campaign field director Matt Cárdenas said McConnie-Saad offered voters a “different choice.”

“This campaign is entirely people-powered,” he said. “No corporate PAC money, no AIPAC, just everyday people investing in a different kind of politics. We’re proud of what we’ve built so far. Politicians have failed us, and Washington won’t change unless we challenge it.”

Despite his weak fundraising totals, there may be good news around the corner for Rabb, a progressive who is starting to see left-leaning political groups coalesce around his candidacy.

The Democratic Socialists of America’s Philadelphia chapter recently endorsed him, as did two liberal wards in South Philadelphia. And Reclaim Philadelphia leaders are recommending that its members back Rabb in the progressive group’s internal endorsement process.

The Working Families Party of Pennsylvania, which often funds super PACs to back left-leaning candidates, has not yet weighed in.

» READ MORE: Chris Rabb is trying to be the left’s standard-bearer as he runs for Congress. Will progressives rally around him?

“We’re still going through an active endorsement process, but we’re confident that we will land on a progressive who will fight for working people, not billionaire donors, big corporations, or special interests,” said Nick Gavio, a spokesperson for the party.

Additionally, the Justice Democrats, a national group founded by operatives from Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, may also get involved. In the past, the PAC has backed candidates with similar platforms to Rabb’s.

Justice Democrats “will likely come to a decision with news to share in the very near future in support of a candidate we can be confident will represent the values of the everyday people in this district,” spokesperson Usamah Andrabi said.

Data reporter Joe Yerardi contributed to this article.