Last week, the Local sent a list of questions to Democratic candidates running in 2026 for retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ seat ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
They were asked to respond to the questions in an opinion-style format, approximately 600 words in length. The layout was left completely up to the candidates; some chose to go question by question, while others addressed them in a narrative format.
The goal was to allow our readers to compare responses from each candidate, all on the same pages with the same questions.
The five candidates featured at the 9th Ward Democratic Committee forum on Dec. 4 -- state Rep. Chris Rabb, Chestnut Hill resident Dr. Ala Stanford, state Sen. Sharif Street, state Rep. Morgan Cephas, and Dr. David Oxman -- all responded. The Local also received responses from candidates Jahmiel Jackson and Pablo McConnie-Saad, a former climate advisor for the Biden administration.
Every candidate who provided their contact information to the Philadelphia Democratic Party was given a chance to respond.
The columns are running in the order we received them. Submissions opened on Dec. 17 at 9 a.m. and closed Dec. 19 at noon.
In total, there were three questions from the Local’s editorial team and two from our readers, taken from Instagram and Facebook responses. Responses by candidates who answered each question individually will be numbered in order.
Here are the questions:
From the editorial team -
1. What does affordability mean to you? And what can Congress do to achieve it?
2. What does the future of the Democratic Party look like to you? Progressive candidates like Zohran Mamdani have gained traction, while others have called for a more moderate party model. Where do you fit into this?
3. Constituents often reach out to elected officials for issues outside of their office’s jurisdiction or immediate control. For example, if one of your constituents reached out to you for help stopping a large illegal dumping site in their community, how would you respond? How would you leverage your position to help?
From our readers -
4. From a Facebook commenter: “What would you do, even as a junior member of Congress, to resist the way the current administration is tearing apart the U.S. democratic republic and our relationships with other countries around the world?”
5. We received multiple comments about Israel, so we’ve combined them into one question. How would you describe the actions of the Israeli government since Oct. 7? What can be done as a member of Congress to stop or limit the death toll in Gaza from rising?
Click on each candidate's name to see their responses:
