Incumbent Dem Loses In 194th Primary After Being Outspent 10 To 1
By Bob Small
In one of the five most expensive Pennsylvania Democratic State House races, Tarik Khan beat incumbent Pamela DeLissio in the primary after outspending her, 10 to one.
Khan spent $283,705 to Ms. DeLissio’s $27,488. He received 59.9% of the vote to her 40.1%.
Since the GOP did not field a candidate, Tarik will be the next representative from the 194th District.
The 194th includes part of Lower Merion Township and part of Philadelphia, and is traditionally Democrat. Its best known representative ever may have been Herbert Fineman, who was forced to resign.
Khan is a University of Pennsylvania nursing PhD student. He received his masters degree in nursing from LaSalle University and is employed as a family nurse practitioner at Philly’s Abbotsford-Falls Health Center. He has been a lifelong political activist.
The son of a Pakistani immigrant, Khan speaks of “growing up as a Muslim kid with a Catholic mother in a Jewish neighborhood”. As a nurse, he is following his mother’s career path.
The biggest contributors to Khan’s campaign were family, $32,000; the 314 Action Victory Science Fund, $27,500; and Impact PAC Federal, $15,000.
Khan said he also “received over 1,000 contributions from about 700 individuals”. One wonders about the current cost to run successfully for public office in this state and, indeed, in this country.
Ms. DeLissio has served as representative since 2011. She has a record of holding 116 town-hall meetings over the past ten years, and just held her 118th such meeting last week. She chaired the Children and Youth Committee.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a set price for someone running in politics so big money could not buy votes and place people to do what they want to control. What happened to real democracy and for the people? If we the people want our Countries back we must all start to pay attention as we are no longer represented by those elected by big money.