State Sen. Sharif Street has moved ahead in the money race among candidates vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District.
A report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that Street, the son of former Mayor John Street and a state senator since 2017, raised about $701,000 last year and had $527,000 in cash as of Dec. 31.
His campaign says these results show that neighborhood residents are “uniting” behind Street. The district includes West Philadelphia, part of North Philadelphia, and most of downtown.
“Our strong record of progressive leadership – from lowering health care costs to leading the fight to legalize recreational marijuana and reforming our criminal justice system – resonates in every corner of the District,” said campaign manager Josh Uretsky.
As Street and other candidates try to raise money and improve their profiles ahead of the May 19 primary election, the field continues to expand. According to the FEC, there are currently 13 people applying for the position.
The newest candidates are NaDerah Griffin, who previously ran for state representative and an at-large City Council seat, and Sheila Armstrong, a former City Council candidate who is the only Republican candidate in the race.
Armstrong is a former Democrat who leads the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group known for supporting school book bans in Bucks County and beyond.
Oxman and Stanford join forces
Behind Street in the fundraising race are two doctors and first-time political candidates who have borrowed significant sums for their campaigns.
Jefferson Health critical care physician David Oxman, who has made health care reform a centerpiece of his campaign, said his contributions came exclusively from individual donors. He raised $498,000, including $100,000 in campaign loans, and had $366,000 in cash.
“You can’t fight for the health of the people of the 3rd District by taking money from nursing home companies and health insurance PACs. The corporatization of medicine is just one part of the larger corporatization of American life that is hollowing out our economy and our democracy,” he said.
Dr. Ala Stanford, a Penn professor and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 consortium, was recruited by Evans and launched her campaign in October. She brought in $467,000, including $250,000 loaned to the campaign, and had $392,000 in the bank.
“The outpouring of support we have received shows that people across the city are ready for a new generation of leadership in Congress – one that will stand up for Philadelphia, protect our communities and oppose the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans,” she said.
Two other state legislators are in the race. Congressman Chris Rabb, an outspoken progressive from Northwest Philadelphia, raised $384,000 and spent most of it, leaving him with $98,721. West Philly representative Morgan Cephas raised $241,000 and had $109,000 in the bank.
The other candidates who reported donations were Pablo McConnie-Saad, a former Biden administration official, who received $119,000; Temple University professor Karl Morris, $50,000; and Jahmiel Jackson, a West Philly resident and recent University of Chicago graduate, $15,000.
Candidates Armstrong, Griffin, former city employee Robin Toldens, software engineer Cole Carter and Empowered CDC director Isaiah Martin reported no 2025 campaign donations or expenses.
Video gambling companies are contributing
The Street campaign’s coffers grew thanks to maximum contributions from many donors. The contribution limit for individual donors is $3,500 per election, or $7,000 per cycle, because the primary and general elections are counted separately.
Political action committees (PACs) can give a candidate $5,000 per election or $10,000 per cycle.
Donors who contributed $7,000 to the Street campaign included two donors with ties to the video arcade industry: Pace-O-Matic founder Michael Pace of Tennessee and Republic Amusements executive Roger Sperlbaum of Colorado. There were companies intense lobbying in Pennsylvania as lawmakers consider taxing devices to lend a hand fix the state’s structural budget deficit.
Street’s top donors also included two other Pace-O-Matic employees, Stacey Pace and Michael Barley, as well as philanthropists Chase and Catherine Lenfest, attorney Matt Haverstick and his wife Amanda, and Harrisburg politician and philanthropist Peggy Grove.
Others who donated at least $3,500 to the Street included Parkway Corp.’s CEO. Joseph Zuritsky, former Gov. Ed Rendell, lawyer Stephen Sheller and his wife Sandy, real estate developer Mark Nicoletti, former mayoral candidate Tom Knox, food magnate and former mayoral candidate Jeff Brown and his wife Sandra, and lawyers George Bochetto and Eli Klehr.
Stanford’s top donors include the PAC for Select Medical Corp., a Mechanicsburg company that owns rehabilitation hospitals and physical therapy clinics, as well as Congressman Evans, Jefferson Health surgeon Alliric Willis, Nobel Prize-winning Penn researcher Drew Weissman and members of his family, Stanford literary agent Jennifer Weis, former Mayor Michael Nutter, lawyer Leslie Anne Miller and Penn pediatrician Paul Offit.
Oxman reported donations of at least $3,500 from a variety of people, including family members, friends and other health care professionals in Philadelphia and the region.
The candidates spent on campaign software, campaign and fundraising consultants, event catering, fees for Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue and other expenses. None of them have yet aired the television ads that could account for the largest share of congressional spending on races.
