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The 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on to elect the
mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...
. Nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties were selected through primaries on May 16, 2023. Incumbent Democratic mayor
Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 99th mayor of Philadelphia from 2016 to 2024. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning ...
was
term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...
ed and could not seek reelection to a third term. Philadelphia's three most recent mayors were previously members of
Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
who resigned their seats to run for mayor due to the "resign to run" provision of Philadelphia's election law. Former Philadelphia District Attorney
Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...
(1992-2000) was the last mayor who never served in the Philadelphia City Council. Notable Democratic candidates included former city councilmembers Allan Domb,
Helen Gym Helen Gym ( ; , born January 11, 1968) is an American politician. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Philadelphia City Council. She was first elected to Council in 2015 and served until 2022, when she resigned to run in the ...
, and
Cherelle Parker Cherelle Lesley Parker (born September 9, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office. Parker served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 20 ...
; state representative Amen Brown; former municipal judge James DeLeon; former city controller Rebecca Rhynhart; businessman Jeff Brown; and pastor Warren Bloom Sr. Cherelle Parker won the Democratic primary on September 3 to go on and become the nominee. The Republican nominee is former longtime At-Large City Councilmember
David Oh David Henry Oh (born March 8, 1960) is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2012 to 2023. He was the first Asian American elected to the cit ...
, who ran unopposed in his party's primary. Parker was heavily favored in the general election, as Philadelphia has not elected a Republican mayor since
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
. Kenney was re-elected with 80% of the vote in
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, while Democrat
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
carried the city of Philadelphia with 81% of the vote in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. Oh still overperformed compared to previous Republicans, however, garnering nearly 25% of the vote - more than any Republican mayoral candidate since
Sam Katz Samuel Michael Katz (born August 20, 1951) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who was the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2004 to 2014. He is the owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association, as well as the ...
in 2003.


Democratic primary


Background

In
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, incumbent Mayor
Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 99th mayor of Philadelphia from 2016 to 2024. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning ...
was re-elected to his second and final term. Polling in March 2022 showed Kenney with a 55% approval rating among Philadelphia Democrats, while an equal percentage said the city was moving in the wrong direction. Gun violence and public safety were top issues in the election. While Philadelphia saw 8% fewer homicides in 2022 than in 2021, the city recorded more than 500 homicides for the second year in a row. After a shooting at the city's July 4 celebration, Mayor Kenney told reporters he will "be happy" when he is no longer mayor, prompting
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
members Derek S. Green and Allan Domb to call for his resignation. In August 2022, Allan Domb resigned from City Council ahead of an expected run for mayor but did not announce his candidacy until November of that year. In September, Derek Green, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, and
Cherelle Parker Cherelle Lesley Parker (born September 9, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office. Parker served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 20 ...
also resigned from City Council and announced their candidacies. City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart joined the race in October, followed by
ShopRite ShopRite is an American retailers' cooperative of supermarkets with stores in six states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York (state), New York and Pennsylvania. Based in Keasbey, New Jersey, ShopRite consists of 50 individua ...
retailer Jeff Brown and City Council member
Helen Gym Helen Gym ( ; , born January 11, 1968) is an American politician. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Philadelphia City Council. She was first elected to Council in 2015 and served until 2022, when she resigned to run in the ...
in November.
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
Amen Brown announced his campaign in December.


Candidates


Nominee


Eliminated in primary


Other declared candidates

*Delscia Gray


Withdrew

* Derek S. Green, At-large
Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
member (2016–2022) ''(endorsed Parker)'' * Maria Quiñones-Sánchez,
Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
member for the 7th district (2008–2022) ''(endorsed Parker)'' * John Wood, former
Philadelphia police The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, ...
lieutenant and
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
veteran


Did not qualify

*Joseph Anthony Tartaglia


Declined

*
Cindy Bass Cindy M. Bass (born November 4, 1967) is a Democratic politician and member of the City Council of Philadelphia. Personal life Bass grew up in North Philadelphia and graduated from Parkway-Northwest High School and Temple University. She served ...
,
Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
member from the 8th district (2012–present) ''( running for re-election)'' *
Howard Eskin Howard Eskin (born April 29, 1951) is an American sports commentator, formerly a host for sports radio station WIP-FM (94.1) and a contributor to WTXF-TV (channel 29) in Philadelphia. He also worked as a sideline reporter for the Philadelphia Ea ...
, sports radio personality on
94.1 WIP WIP-FM (94.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a sports radio format. The WIP-FM offices and studios are co-located in Audacy's corporate headq ...
*
Vincent Hughes Vincent J. Hughes (born October 26, 1956) is an American politician who is serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 7th District since 1994. Hughes previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania Hous ...
,
Pennsylvania state senator The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in ...
from the 7th district (1994–present) * Keith Leaphart, entrepreneur, philanthropist, physician and Executive on Loan to the city of Philadelphia (2007) *
Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...
,
Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...
(2008–2016) ''(endorsed Rhynhart)'' *
Mike Stack Michael Joseph Stack III (born June 5, 1963) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 33rd lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Pe ...
, former
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...
(2015–2019) ''(endorsed Domb)''


Campaign

In November 2022, ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' reported that former city councilmember
Cherelle Parker Cherelle Lesley Parker (born September 9, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office. Parker served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 20 ...
had the "competitive advantage as the race gets underway." ''The Inquirer'' credited her "competitive advantage" to her close ties to labor unions in Philadelphia and her role as the Democratic leader of Northwest Philadelphia's 50th Ward, which is home to older middle-class Black voters, who boast some of the highest voter turnout. Helen Gym has been described as the favored candidate by progressive activists. She faced early attacks from fellow candidates, who have criticized her votes in City Council to oppose greater funding for the Philadelphia Police Department. In December 2022, Jeff Brown became the first candidate to run TV ads. The ads highlight his work opening grocery stores in "underserved communities" and accuses his rivals from City Council of inaction. This coincided with Brown receiving endorsements from some of Philadelphia's most powerful labor unions including the chapters of the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
,
Transport Workers Union of America Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article disc ...
and
United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a trade union, labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufa ...
. Brown faced controversy when he aired an ad that showed an old clip of former First Lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
praising him. An advisor to Obama said that she does not get involved in Democratic primaries and criticized the ad for implying that she had endorsed Brown. Campaign finance reports, released in early April, showed Allan Domb and Jeff Brown as having raised the most money of the candidates. The report showed that Domb had raised $2.6 million, with a $2 million being self-financed. In comparison, Brown raised $2 million with $800,000 being self-financed. The report also showed that more than half of the money donated came from outside of Philadelphia. Only Parker and Rhynhart raised a majority of their funds from Philadelphia donors. Longtime city councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez was originally a candidate, but withdrew on April 10, citing an "obnoxious, obscene amount of money that is shaping the race." Quiñones-Sánchez failed to win the endorsement of any labor unions and her $800,000 in campaign funds paled in comparison to other candidates in the race, who were primarily self-funding their campaigns. On April 10, The Philadelphia Board of Ethics sued "For A Better Philadelphia", a super PAC and nonprofit, by the same name, supporting Jeff Brown's candidacy. The Board of Ethics investigation found an "extensive and elaborate scheme to circumvent the city's campaign contribution limits." In addition, the Board of Ethics said that Brown engaged in fundraising for "For A Better Philadelphia" by directing donors to give to the outside spending group. If Brown coordinated with the PAC, then the PAC's spending would be subject to the city's limits on political donations. The Philadelphia Board of Ethics asked a judge to issue an emergency order prohibiting the super PAC and nonprofit from spending money to support Brown. In May 2023, two canvassers working for the group One PA, who were canvassing for Gym and a candidate for City Council, got into an altercation, which resulted in a fatal shooting.


Debates


Endorsements


Polling


Graphical summary


Fundraising


Results

Results by Ward


Republican primary


Candidates


Nominee


Campaign

David Oh David Henry Oh (born March 8, 1960) is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2012 to 2023. He was the first Asian American elected to the cit ...
, a former longtime At-Large City Councilmember, was the only Republican to run for mayor. Despite Philadelphia being a heavily Democratic city, Oh has established a brand as a Republican willing to clash with both parties and his cultivated a unique base of supporters, particularly among immigrant voters.


Endorsements


Results


General election


Endorsements


Debate

A debate between Parker and Oh took place on October 26, 2023, at the studios of KYW NewsRadio.


Results

Results by Ward


References


Notes


External links

Official campaign websites
David Oh (R) for Mayor

Cherelle Parker (D) for Mayor
{{2023 United States elections 2023 in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...