Dwight Evans announced he would not rerun for the PA-3 House seat in 2026 as Penn alum Sharif Street announced his campaign to run for the seat. (Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Senate)
Last week, 1999 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduate and state Sen. Sharif Street (D-3) entered the race for the seat in the House of Representatives currently held by Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.).
Street’s July 1 campaign website launch followed a June 30 press release in which Evans announced that he would not seek re-election to Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District seat after having held the position since 2016. The 3rd Congressional District includes University City — where Penn is located — as well as West Philadelphia, parts of Center City, North Philadelphia, and South Philadelphia.
Evans emphasized that he will continue to “serve his constituents fully” during the rest of his term in office, which concludes in January 2027.
“I cannot express the gratitude that I have for the trust that voters put in me as their voice in both state and federal office,” Evans said in the press release. “It has been a privilege of a lifetime to serve as their advocate in government.”
Evans’ withdrawal from re-election consideration follows months of conversation surrounding his physical capability to serve after suffering a stroke in May 2024. In early June, Evans was still publicly planning to run in the 2026 election, and wrote in a press release that he remained “in good health” and was “fully capable of continuing to serve.”
Despite planning to take only six weeks off, Evans was not in Washington to vote in Congress for the rest of the year while he recovered.
Evans recently suggested that Penn might have to pursue legal action in response to federal funding cuts over Title IX violations earlier this year.
He currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, holding a seat on the Welfare and Health and Work subcommittees.
“Today marks the end of an era,” Street wrote in a June 30 X post. “Congressman Dwight Evans has been a giant in PA politics and a relentless champion for Philadelphia for over four decades. I’ve known him my entire life—as a mentor, a friend, and one of our greatest legislators.”
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Street has served as a state senator — representing the 3rd Senatorial District — since 2017. He is the first Muslim elected to Pennsylvania’s State Senate.
As a member of the state Senate, Street serves as the Democratic chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee. He is also a member of the Appropriations, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Urban Affairs and Housing committees.
While at Penn Carey Law, Street served as the president of Penn Law Democrats. He also created a town watch group to organize community cleanups and prevent violence across Philadelphia. He has since founded Urban Solution, a nonprofit “created to address the health needs of traditionally under-served communities,” and served as a Senate staffer for the Pennsylvania Senate. He is currently the chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
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