David Oh, a former city councilmember and member of the Army National Guard, has won the 2023 Republican primary in the Philadelphia mayoral race and will be the party's nominee in the November general election.
Oh ran unopposed. He ran on a platform that called crime the "number one" issue facing the city, and he said he would attack the issue with a "well-equipped" law enforcement community to provide regular patrols with a focus on hot spots for crime.
In November, Oh will face off against Cherelle Parker, the winner of the Democratic primary.
Democrats outnumber Republican voters in Philadelphia by a 7-to-1 margin, and an Oh victory in November is considered highly unlikely. A Republican hasn't been elected as mayor in Philly since 1941.
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In announcing his campaign, he said that he wanted to run in order to have the chance to achieve goals that he has been unable to address in his role on City Council.
"I do think it is the right time to do something different. And, that is, take all the things I could not do on council and do that for the city as mayor," Oh said.
Philadelphia Mayoral Election 2023
If elected, Oh would take over for two-term Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney.
Oh's campaign was supported by former Republican governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge, Log Cabin Republicans, and the SEPTA Transit Police Union.
