Jim Kenney Wins Philadelphia Primary

Congratulations to Jim Kenney, who as of yesterday is the official Democratic nominee for mayor of the city of Philadelphia. Kenney won the Democratic primary over five other challengers. Kenney is a former city councilman who enjoyed widespread union support during the primary campaign process. It was a definitive win. Kenney was leading his next-closest competitor, Anthony Hardy Williams, by a margin of 3-1. Williams had the advantage of a $7 million campaign put on by a pro-charter school group. For his part, Kenney had about $2 million behind him, raised by Super PACs consisting of union supporters and other liberal groups.

Congratulations to Jim Kenney, the Democratic nominee for mayor! Image: NBC

Kenney supports universal pre-kindergarten, ending police stop-and-frisk, and raising the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. Another big issue of his campaign was the need to stabilize funding for Philadelphia’s beleaguered school system. He has spoken out on police-community relations due to the topic being prominent in the news as of late. He supports equality for the gay community and would like to keep Philadelphia as a haven for undocumented immigrants.

Kenney will go on to square off against Republican Melissa Murray Baily this fall. Due to Philadelphia’s overwhelming (7 – 1) majority of Democrats over Republicans it is believed that Kenney will carry the day come November. If so, he will become mayor of the nation’s fifth-largest city, replacing term-limited Michael Nutter. As no Republican has been mayor of Philadelphia since 1948, the Democratic primary has become the de facto mayorial election.

Kenney’s other opponents in the race were former District Attorney Lynne Abraham, former judge Nelson Diaz, former Philadelphia Gas Works executive Doug Oliver, and former state Senator Milton Street.