local
With Three Jewish Candidates
in the Mayor’s Race,
Does the Jewish Vote Matter?
Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer
6 MAY 11, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Jeff Brown and his wife Sandy at Congregation
Rodeph Shalom during the mayoral race
Courtesy of Jeff Brown for Mayor
Allan Domb on the campaign trail
Rebecca Rhynhart
Courtesy of Rebecca Rhynhart For Mayor
Courtesy of Allan Domb
A ccording to the now locally famous five-way
tie poll for the Philadelphia mayoral race,
the main candidates are about as close as
they can be. Rebecca Rhynhart has 18%, Cherelle
Parker 17%, Helen Gym 15%, Allan Domb 14% and Jeff
Brown 11%, with 20% still undecided.

And among the three Jewish candidates, Rhynhart,
Domb and Brown, the Jewish vote seems to be
about as close as the race itself. While it’s difficult to
pin down exact totals for a religious group, we can
extrapolate from other demographics that have Jews
within them.

Rhynhart, according to a poll analysis by The
Philadelphia Inquirer, is doing well with Center City,
higher-income and white voters. Domb is getting
attention from moderates, educated voters and
Northeast Philadelphia. And Brown seems to be
making connections with educated residents as well.

Jews are not a major demographic in this race.

But with candidates battling for every vote, their
outreach efforts to the Jewish community can make
a difference. Domb and Brown made a point of
saying that they had visited synagogues and adver-
tised in the Jewish Exponent, among other efforts.

Philadelphia’s Democratic Primary is on May 16. It
will probably decide the election, as Philly is an 80%
blue city.

“Is it going to be the major lead in your campaign? No.

Is it going to be a component of your targeted campaign
efforts? Yes,” said Christopher Borick, the director of
Muhlenberg College’s Institute of Public Opinion, about
the Jewish vote. “If you think your strength might be
reaching out to older voters, and a segment of that
cohort is Jewish, you try to reach them.”
More than 30,000 Jews live in Center City, by
far the largest geographical contingent of Jews in
Philadelphia, according to the Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia’s 2019 population study. Borick,
who analyzed that five-way tie poll conducted by the
nonpartisan Committee of Seventy for the Inquirer,
explained that Rhynhart held a natural appeal for
voters in Center City.

The 48-year-old has served under two mayors,
Michael Nutter and Jim Kenney, as city treasurer,
budget director and chief administrative officer. She