The 2026 primary season kicks off early with PA-3 candidates' forum

Five Democratic candidates running to replace retiring Congressman Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania’s Third Congressional District gathered in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood on Thursday evening for an unusually early high-profile kickoff to campaign season.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, Dr. David Oxman, state Rep. Chris Rabb, Dr. Ala Stanford and state Sen. Sharif Street participated in the forum hosted by the 9th Ward Democratic Committee, which former public media journalist Stephanie Marudas moderated for a standing-room-only crowd of over 300 people who braved unseasonably cold temperatures and scant parking options to hear the candidates try to differentiate themselves from each other.

The event, which consisted of opening remarks from each candidate, followed by a series of questions posed by Marudas and the audience, was notable both for spotlighting the priorities candidates were most passionate about and for the little discord among them on key issues.

One of the questions – which will likely be one of the key issues in 2026 – focused on how each candidate would address their constituents’ struggles to bridge the affordability gap. Rabb used his time to hammer home the need to tax the rich, which he returned to throughout the evening. “When we talk about affordability, we have to talk about rolling back tariffs, but we also have to talk about taxing the rich,” he said, before bringing up the benefits of a living wage – something that Stanford and Street also focused on in their answers. In contrast, Cephas talked about educational programs and Oxman discussed the role of PACs and special interest groups in keeping politicians from addressing the root causes of the crisis.

Another topic the candidates agreed on was how to legislate Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Street, who declared that ICE had become “rotten to its core,” said that if the agency could not be reformed, “if we have to abolish it and start with something else … that’s fine.” Rabb called for not just abolishing ICE, but also “dismantling all immigrant detention centers,” while Oxman, observing that “what is happening now is nothing more than performative acts of cruelty” by ICE, also concurred that the agency might not be salvageable in its current form.

The candidates were also aligned on the danger of rising healthcare costs for Americans, with many, including the two physicians, calling for the passage of Medicare for All legislation. Stanford emphasized that “we can have Medicare for all – but not without the accountability for the people who provide the care and that is enforceable in Congress.” At the same time, Cephas said that Congress “absolutely has to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, but we also have to ensure that we're tackling the issue of medical debt.”

With relatively little divergence in positions and opinions among the candidates, some audience members found themselves better informed about who might be on the ballot but no closer to deciding whom to vote for.

Sharon Strauss, who lives in Northwest Philadelphia, seemed to sum up that viewpoint. “I like how everyone seemed to support each other,” she said, “but I feel like there’s not a whole lot of daylight between the candidates. I’m still undecided.”