Rabb against the machine

May 21, 2026

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Good Afternoon everyone,

It’s Thursday, May 21, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. You can find our previous edition here.

Now that the dust has settled on Pennsylvania’s 2026 primary, we’re going to recap some of Tuesday night’s races and results.

But first and foremost, I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming three-day weekend, or four-day weekend in some cases, and has some fun with family and friends this Memorial Day.

I know I will be taking advantage of the extended weekend after burning myself out from running around this half of the state to bring you coverage of the primary elections.

Sean Kitchen

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

The Pennsylvania Working Families Party, a third party that helps elect progressive Democrats and lawmakers to local, state, and federal offices, targeted six races on Tuesday, and won all six of them.

At the top of the ticket, those races included Bob Brooks’ primary victory in the Lehigh Valley and State Rep. Chris Rabb’s victory in Philadelphia. More on that below.

On top of that, the progressive third party targeted four seats in the Pennsylvania House, which included defeating two incumbents who were essentially appointed to their seats via special election by the local Democratic party officials.

Following the 2024 election, DC Beltway-Democrats spent months blaming “the groups,” or progressive organizations, for losing the election, but US Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) talked about the significance those organizations played a key role in Rabb’s victory and others across the commonwealth.

“We need coalitions to be bigger, and we need them to be stronger. This isn’t the story of one person. It’s not the story of one organization. It’s the story of what happens when the left comes together and what happens when we build a multiracial and multigenerational movement that meets the moment, and that’s what we saw here today,” Lee told The Keystone.

After getting into a squabble with Philadelphia Building Trades President Ryan Boyer at their annual primary day macaroni-and-cheese luncheon, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner wants everyone to know that he was able to get some mac-n-cheese at the Reading Terminal Market. You can watch that here.
Three Pennsylvania Senate Republicans who were facing well-funded primary challenges from right-wing organizations and skilled games operators survived their primaries on Tuesday, per Spotlight Pa.
An internal poll shows Janelle Stelson (D), a former television anchor, starting the post-primary campaign season with a six-point lead over US Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania), per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

After growing up in Philadelphia and being part of the progressive community over the past decade, there are a lot of things I can say about State Rep. Chris Rabb’s primary victory, but I’ll try and be as concise as possible.

Rabb has bucked the Philadelphia Democratic machie and has handed them losses at every opportunity over the past decade.

Tuesday was no different.

Rabb, a five-term state representative, was first elected in 2016 after defeating Toneyell Cook-Artis, an incumbent who won a special election weeks before that year’s primary election.

That seat was originally vacated by then-State Rep. Cherelle Parker, future Philadelphia mayor, who resigned to serve as a Philadelphia city councilmember, and he has been a thorn in the side of the party machine since. Rabb went on to win Parker’s ward on Tuesday with 36% of the vote.

Going into Tuesday, Rabb was going up against the Philadelphia Democratic Party’s machine and organized labor, who all backed State Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), but still managed to win decisively with 44% of the vote.

You can watch Rabb’s reaction to winning here.