Former Gov. Ed Rendell endorses State Sen. Sharif Street to succeed Rep. Dwight Evans in Congress

Former Gov. Ed Rendell endorsed Democratic State Sen. Sharif Street in his bid to represent Philadelphia in Congress.

In his endorsement, Rendell, who was Philadelphia’s mayor from 1992 to 2000, called Street someone with a track record of delivering for working families in Philadelphia.

“With our nation in crisis, we need fighters like Sharif Street representing us in Congress,” Rendell said in a statement Wednesday.

“I’ve known Sharif since he was a teenager, and he’s spent his entire career fighting for our community,” Rendell said, commending Street’s work as a state legislator to help implement Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act exchange, Pennie, and delivering money to programs that work to reduce gun violence.

Street, a former chair of the state Democratic Party, has worked closely with Rendell on party business and fundraising in the past. The candidate’s father, former Mayor John F. Street, served as City Council president during Rendell’s mayorship before succeeding him in the office.

The endorsement comes as the race for the 3rd Congressional District heats up.

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ decision to retire has kicked off the city’s first competitive primary in more than a decade — with one of most Democratic-leaning districts in the country up for grabs.

Evans endorsed Ala Stanford, a physician, founder of Philadelphia’s Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, and former regional director at the U.S. Department of Health.

Two of Street’s Harrisburg colleagues, State Reps. Chris Rabb and Morgan Cephas, are also running, as is intensive-care physician Dave Oxman.

A half dozen other hopefuls include Jahmiel Jackson, a West Philly native and recent University of Chicago graduate; Isaiah Martin, a 25-year-old real estate developer and executive director of Empowered CDC, which runs community programs in Southwest Philadelphia; Pablo McConnie-Saad, a Bella Vista resident and former U.S. Treasury Department adviser in the Biden administration; Temple University computer science professor Karl Morris; and former city employee Robin Toldens.

Rendell’s endorsement further solidifies Street as the early Democratic establishment favorite in the race. Street also received endorsements from several city labor unions.

“I’m honored to accept the endorsement of a leader like Governor Rendell,” Street said in a statement, calling the endorsement part of a “broad-based coalition — from labor unions to elected officials to community activists.”

Street’s strength with the establishment could become a target in the race. At the first campaign forum, held last week, Rabb said he was running because Philadelphians needed a true progressive representing them, “not another establishment ally.”

There has been no independent polling done in the race, but an internal poll from Street’s campaign, conducted by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake’s firm, showed him with a 5-percentage-point lead (22%) over Rabb (17%), with Stanford (11%), Cephas (7%), and Oxman (2%) behind them. The survey of 500 likely 2026 Democratic primary voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

But the survey showed a plurality of voters, 36%, were undecided.