Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • All local elections by county • How to run for office
Flag of Pennsylvania.png


← 2024
Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 10, 2026
Primary: May 19, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Pennsylvania

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th
Pennsylvania elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 19, 2026, in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 10, 2026
May 19, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Pennsylvania utilizes a closed primary process. Voters are required to register with a political party to vote in the primary election.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 3

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 3 on May 19, 2026.

Candidate
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Gabriel Caceres
Image of Cole Carter
Cole Carter
Image of Morgan Cephas
Morgan Cephas
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Thomas Cook
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Naderah Griffin
Image of Shaun Griffith
Shaun Griffith  Candidate Connection
Image of Jahmiel Jackson
Jahmiel Jackson  Candidate Connection
Image of Isaiah Martin
Isaiah Martin
Image of Pablo McConnie-Saad
Pablo McConnie-Saad
Image of Karl Morris
Karl Morris
Image of David Oxman
David Oxman
Image of Christopher Rabb
Christopher Rabb
Image of Ala Stanford
Ala Stanford
Image of Sharif Street
Sharif Street
Image of Robin Toldens
Robin Toldens

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Shaun Griffith

Image of Shaun Griffith

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Access to Healthcare for All Americans I became acutely aware of the cost of healthcare in seventh grade when I broke my arm, and my parents' health insurance refused coverage. My parents struggled for months to pay the emergency room bills. Parents should not suffer financial hardship because their children have bicycle accidents. As a preteen, I recognized the desperate need for all Americans to have access to healthcare. Thirty years later, the solution finally had a title: Medicare for All. Representative Jayapal (D-WA) and Senator Sanders (I-VT) have been fighting for universal medical coverage for all Americans for nearly a decade, and I will join them in the fight for Medicare for All.

Fight Fascism & Hold ICE Accountable The actions of the Trump administration reveal the administration’s imperial and autocratic aspirations, but the American values ratified in the US Constitution and embraced by political and civil rights leaders throughout history oppose autocracy. We Americans have never perfectly executed the ideals stated in the preamble to the US Constitution, but we have always strived “to form a more perfect Union ... and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” Through ICE, the executive branch daily terrorizes immigrants and violates Americans' civil liberties. I will work limit ICE's budget and hold ICE accountable for its violations of Americans' civil rights.

Fight for a $15 Federal Minimum Wage Compared to 55 years ago, American workers are compensated half as much for twice as much output. Simply to keep up with inflation, the federal minimum wage should be doubled. I adopted the fight for higher wages in 2016 when I supported Senator Sanders (I-VT) in his bid for President; a decade later, the minimum wage is still only $7.25 per hour. I believe that middle-class workers and white-collar professionals will benefit from a higher minimum as much as low-wage workers. This is a fight for everyone who punches a timecard. Hardworking Americans deserve better compensation for their efforts. In the US House, I will work to increase the federal minimum wage. I will fight for $15 per hour.

Jahmiel Jackson

Image of Jahmiel Jackson

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Making the American Dream affordable. Focusing on housing, jobs, and economic stability — including homeownership, job security in the age of AI, and rebuilding pathways for working- and middle-class people.

Creating a viable platform in the Democratic Party for young men and those who feel politically homeless

Both parties are failing us. I’m focused on holding Trump accountable and winning back the young working-class voters Democrats have abandoned by offering real solutions instead of fear and division.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Pennsylvania

Election information in Pennsylvania: May 19, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: May 4, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 4, 2026
  • Online: May 4, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: May 12, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 12, 2026
  • Online: May 12, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: May 19, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 19, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Varies to May 12, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Gabriel Caceres Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Cole Carter Democratic Party $95,947 $84,731 $11,216 As of December 31, 2025
Morgan Cephas Democratic Party $241,028 $132,370 $108,658 As of December 31, 2025
Thomas Cook Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Naderah Griffin Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Shaun Griffith Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jahmiel Jackson Democratic Party $15,369 $8,870 $6,499 As of December 31, 2025
Isaiah Martin Democratic Party $7,084 $5,219 $1,865 As of December 31, 2025
Pablo McConnie-Saad Democratic Party $119,221 $50,403 $68,818 As of December 31, 2025
Karl Morris Democratic Party $49,659 $33,371 $16,287 As of December 31, 2025
David Oxman Democratic Party $497,773 $140,774 $356,999 As of December 31, 2025
Christopher Rabb Democratic Party $384,066 $285,345 $98,721 As of December 31, 2025
Ala Stanford Democratic Party $467,228 $75,191 $392,037 As of December 31, 2025
Sharif Street Democratic Party $700,845 $226,822 $526,582 As of December 31, 2025
Robin Toldens Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_pa_congressional_district_03.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+40. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 40 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 3rd the most Democratic district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
88.0%11.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Pennsylvania, 2024

Pennsylvania presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 14 Democratic wins
  • 17 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R P[3] R R R R R D D D R R R D D D R D R R R D D D D D D R D R
See also: Party control of Pennsylvania state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Pennsylvania
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 1 7 8
Republican 1 10 11
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 17 19

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Pennsylvania's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Pennsylvania, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party Josh Shapiro
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Austin Davis
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Al Schmidt
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Dave Sunday

State legislature

Pennsylvania State Senate

Party As of February 2026
     Democratic Party 23
     Republican Party 27
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 50

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Party As of February 2026
     Democratic Party 100
     Republican Party 98
     Other 0
     Vacancies 5
Total 203

Trifecta control

Pennsylvania Party Control: 1992-2025
One year of a Democratic trifecta  •  Twelve years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Pennsylvania in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Pennsylvania, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Pennsylvania U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 1,000 $150.00 3/10/2026 Source
Pennsylvania U.S. House Unaffiliated 2% of votes cast in the district in the last election $150.00 8/3/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ FindLaw, "Pa. Stat. tit. 25, § 299," accessed December 22, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  3. ↑ Progressive Party


Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Fetterman (D)
David McCormick (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Republican Party (11)
Democratic Party (8)


Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Pennsylvania%27s_3rd_Congressional_District_election,_2026_(May_19_Democratic_primary)&oldid=11031936"