Some Philadelphia voters could start getting text messages this week promoting an independent Congressional candidate in the district where progressive state Rep. Chris Rabb is the Democratic nominee.
The messages, expected to launch Tuesday, Oct. 20, are coming from the Forward Party Victory Fund, an independent expenditure affiliate of the Forward Party that was started as an alternative to the major parties and has backed candidates across the country.
“The effort that we’re doing really stands for the proposition that independent candidates around the country need a boost and we believe there’s really a hunger among perhaps a majority of all the voters in our country for an alternative to the two-party system,” said Craig Snyder, political director of the Forward Party Victory Fund.
The messages ask “Had enough of people thinking they own your vote no matter what? For Congress, Vote Independent candidate Dennis Mahoney!”
In a video, a man – who Snyder says is a voter in the 3rd Congressional District – says, “I’m a Democrat, not a Socialist.”
Rabb identifies as a Democratic Socialist.
The messages also claim Rabb, who is Black, “was chosen by a majority of White voters to represent most of the black folks in Philly. Chris Rabb lost the black vote to Sharif Street, but they expect black folks to vote Rabb anyway!”
Asked whether that kind of messaging could turn off voters and why race was brought into the messaging, Snyder said, “Look, I think in today’s polarized politics you’re going to turn some people off no matter what you do. The key thing is are you telling the truth and we are telling the truth.”
Asked about the data to back up those claims, Snyder pointed to the margins in precincts within the district.
“You can really just look at the map of where the votes came from and determine the majority, the racial composition of the majority of the people in those precincts,” he said.
After NBC10 shared the planned content with Rabb, he pointed to his victory in the 3rd district primary this spring.
“A super PAC can buy ads, but it can’t rewrite what Democrats across this district decided in May. We won 24 of the district’s 37 wards, including eight majority-Black wards, with a grassroots coalition that reflects the full diversity of Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District,” Rabb said in a statement. “Our support reached across neighborhoods and communities, including some of the highest-turnout majority-Black voting divisions in the district.”
Rabb’s statement continued:
“No community’s vote should ever be taken for granted, and no one should try to divide our neighbors along racial lines for political gain. I’m focused on bringing people together, continuing to earn their trust, and fighting for all the people of this district as their next member of Congress,” Rabb said.
Mahoney said he first became aware of the texts from NBC10. Under FEC guidelines, independent expenditures are not coordinated with candidates or campaigns.
“As Independents, we are focused on bringing people together to solve real problems. Our campaign continues to focus on putting servant leadership back in politics, bringing people together, ending division, and advocating for every Philadelphian to live a flourishing life,” Mahoney said in a statement to NBC 10.
The group is aiming to reach tens of thousands of voters with the messages, which are scheduled to be rolled out on Tuesday. Snyder said they are aiming for voters in the political middle “who are going to look at a Chris Rabb candidacy and see…the same kind of extremism that we see.”
Snyder declined to say how much the campaign will cost.
