Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) and challenger Anthony Williams (D) each picked up noteworthy endorsements Thursday in Philadelphia’s Democratic mayoral primary election.
Kenney, who was first elected in 2015, was endorsed by seven political figures including Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and all three of Philadelphia’s representatives to the U.S. House.
Williams, who was the runner-up in the 2015 Democratic primary, was endorsed by former Mayor John Street (D) on the same day. Street was first elected in 1999 and won re-election in 2003.
Williams and former City Controller Alan Butkovitz (D) are Kenney’s only primary challengers.
According to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday, Kenney had $655,000 cash on hand as of April 1, while Williams and Butkovitz each reported $50,000 on hand.
The winner of the May 21 primary will face attorney Billy Ciancaglini (R) and any declared nonpartisan candidates in the November 5 general election. Since Philadelphia adopted its current charter in 1951, no Republican has won a mayoral race and no incumbent seeking re-election has been defeated.
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-largest nationwide by population. Twenty-six of the 100 largest cities by population will be holding mayoral elections in 2019. Five (Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Dallas) are among the 10 largest cities.
Democrats hold the mayor’s office in 18 of the cities with elections this year. Republicans and independents hold four each.
Additional reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/James_Kenney
https://ballotpedia.org/Anthony_Williams_(Pennsylvania)
https://ballotpedia.org/Alan_Butkovitz
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