May 21, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner called on Bob Brady to resign as chair of the city's Democratic committee in an Instagram video.
Two days after progressive lawmaker Chris Rabb pulled off a primary win in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, the city's like-minded district attorney is calling for new Democratic leadership.
Larry Krasner asked Bob Brady, the longtime chair of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee to "step aside" in a video posted Thursday to Instagram. The district attorney filmed the message outside the party's headquarters on Spring Garden Street, next to an office building bearing Brady's name.
Citing concerns over infighting between the Democrats' centrist and progressive wings, Krasner said it was time for "new leadership that will embrace the future, not reject it." He asked Brady, who has headed the party's Philly committee since 1986, to "have the wisdom that your friend Joe Biden had" in ending his 2024 presidential campaign and elevating the candidacy of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
"The Democratic Party in Philadelphia for far too long has spent more time fighting against progressives, fighting against its future than they have spent fighting against Republicans, fighting against fascists, fighting against Donald Trump," Krasner says in the video. "And so we are in a position where what we have to do is come together and we have to fight against our common enemy. If we don’t, November could be very, very, very dark for the future of this country."
Brady did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Though Krasner never mentions Rabb, his victory is clearly a driving force behind the message. The city's district attorney cheers that he will "get to continue to work with" state lawmakers Sharif Street and Morgan Cephas, as well as Dr. Ala Stanford, Rabb's rivals in the Democratic primary race for the U.S. House seat. (Cephas dropped out before the Tuesday election.) He also calls on liberals to work with the Working Families Party, the progressive third party that endorsed Rabb for Congress.
The race to replace retiring Rep. Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District exposed schisms within the Democratic Party. Its city committee, along with Mayor Cherelle Parker and most of City Council, threw its weight behind Street, a more moderate candidate than Rabb. Stanford, seeking her first office, also earned centrist support from Evans and Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan. Most of Rabb's endorsements, by contrast, came from third parties and progressive voices outside Philadelphia like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Inquirer even reported that the Democratic city committee had broken federal election law by sending unsigned texts bashing Rabb. Brady told the paper he was unaware of the messages and did not pay for them.
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