Melissa Francis

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Melissa Francis

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 16, 2023

Contact

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Melissa Francis (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 16, 2023.

Francis also ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court in Pennsylvania. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 16, 2023.

Elections

2023

Court of common pleas

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges Genece E. Brinkley, Joel S. Johnson, and Rayford A. Means filed to run for retention in 2023 but later withdrew. As a result, 10 seats on the court were up in the primary election, but 13 seats were up in the general election on November 7, 2023. The Democratic Party nominated candidates James Eisenhower, Elvin Ross, and Raj Sandher to run for the additional three seats in the general election.

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2023)

General election

General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tamika Washington (D)	9.5	204,468
✔		Natasha Taylor-Smith (D)	9.4	201,305
✔		Samantha Williams (D)	8.9	190,770
✔		Kay Yu (D)	8.6	184,310
✔		Brian McLaughlin (D)	8.4	181,161
✔	Submit photo	Chesley Lightsey (D)	8.2	175,248
✔	Submit photo	John Padova Jr. (D)	7.7	165,392
✔		Jessica Brown (D)	7.2	155,170
✔		Caroline Turner (D)	7.1	152,850
✔	Submit photo	Damaris Garcia (D)	6.6	141,108
✔	Submit photo	James Eisenhower (D)	6.5	138,927
✔	Submit photo	Elvin Ross (D)	6.0	128,519
✔	Submit photo	Raj Sandher (D)	5.8	124,315
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	3,961

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,147,504
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Natasha Taylor-Smith	10.3	145,242
✔		Tamika Washington	9.3	130,896
✔		Samantha Williams	8.6	121,340
✔		Kay Yu	7.8	109,961
✔	Submit photo	John Padova Jr.	7.2	100,946
✔	Submit photo	Chesley Lightsey	6.5	91,646
✔		Brian McLaughlin	6.2	87,367
✔	Submit photo	Damaris Garcia	6.2	86,824
✔		Caroline Turner	6.1	86,095
✔		Jessica Brown	5.8	81,517
		Will Braveman	5.6	78,447
		Wade Albert	5.5	78,124
		Kenneth Joel	5.0	69,900
	Submit photo	Qawi Abdul-Rahman	3.9	54,810
	Submit photo	Melissa Francis	3.5	48,868
	Submit photo	Joe Green	2.7	38,524
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	865

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,411,372
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• MK Feeney (D)
• Colleen McIntyre Osborne (D)
• Aaron Bell (D)

Municipal court

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2023)

General election

General election for Philadelphia Municipal Court (2 seats)

Barbara Thomson and Colleen McIntyre Osborne defeated Rania Major in the general election for Philadelphia Municipal Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Barbara Thomson (D)	50.1	208,221
✔		Colleen McIntyre Osborne (D)	39.0	162,250
	Submit photo	Rania Major (R)	10.8	44,774
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	420

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 415,665
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia Municipal Court (2 seats)

Barbara Thomson and Colleen McIntyre Osborne defeated Melissa Francis and Rania Major in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia Municipal Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Barbara Thomson	41.4	126,504
✔		Colleen McIntyre Osborne	29.1	88,841
	Submit photo	Melissa Francis	15.2	46,476
	Submit photo	Rania Major	14.1	43,218
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	511

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 305,550
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joe Green (D)
• Caroline Turner (D)
• Qawi Abdul-Rahman (D)
• Cortez Patton (D)
• MK Feeney (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Philadelphia Municipal Court (2 seats)

Rania Major advanced from the Republican primary for Philadelphia Municipal Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rania Major	97.9	10,429
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1	228

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,657
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Francis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Francis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2023 Elections

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Government

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Footnotes

Pennsylvania courts

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Federal courts:

Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania

State courts:

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts

State resources:

Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania