U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans announced Monday that he will not seek reelection, capping the end of a 45-year career in elected office and setting up a potentially heated primary to represent the Philadelphia seat in Congress.

Evans, 71, who suffered a stroke last year, said he is fully capable of serving the next year, but made the decision not to run again.

“Serving the people of Philadelphia has been the honor of my life,” Evans, a Democrat, said in a statement. “And I remain in good health and fully capable of continuing to serve. After some discussions this weekend and thoughtful reflection, I have decided that the time is right to announce that I will not be seeking re-election in 2026.”

Evans said he was “deeply proud” of a career in elected office.

“From revitalizing neighborhoods block by block to fighting for justice, economic opportunity, investments in infrastructure and education,” he said. “I cannot express the gratitude that I have for the trust that voters put in me as their voice in both state and federal office. It has been a privilege of a lifetime to serve as their advocate in government.”

The announcement sets up the potential for a crowded race in 2026 to fill the seat in the Third Congressional District, which reaches from South Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill.

Three sitting state lawmakers have already expressed interest including: State Sen. Sharif Street, the state Democratic Party chair; and State Reps. Morgan Cephas and Chris Rabb.

Street, 51, represents North Philadelphia; Cephas, 40, hails from West Philadelphia; and Rabb, 55, represents Mount Airy and West Oak Lane.

Two other Philadelphians have already filed paperwork to run. They are Robin Toldens, a former city government employee and real estate agent, and Dave Oxman, a physician and associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University.

And more interest could likely follow for the deep-blue seat.

Evans’ announcement comes about a week after Street and Cephas indicated an interest in running, regardless of whether Evans announced his retirement.

As of last week, Evans was still saying his intention was to run, and he had amped up fundraising for a potential reelection bid.

But the spotlight on his seat had intensified in recent months in the wake of his stroke and previous missed votes. Three congressional Democrats have died in office this year in the narrowly GOP-controlled House, and some Democrats have questioned whether they were clear-eyed enough about former President Joe Biden’s initial decision to seek reelection.

Evans, who sometimes uses a wheelchair to get from his Capitol Hill office to the House chamber for votes, suffered a stroke in May 2024 and missed about six months of votes that year. Since returning from his rehabilitation in January, he has missed almost none.

Democrats praised Evans after his decision became public on Monday.

“Philadelphia only sends 2 of its own to Congress,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle wrote on X, reflecting on a decade serving with Evans.

“Dwight is more than just a colleague, but also a great friend. He’s dedicated his life to public service,” said Boyle, a fellow Democrat whose Second District stretches from east of Broad Street in Center City to the Northeast.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, who overlapped with Evans in the state House, called him a friend for more than 20 years. “Dwight believed in me long before others did and gave me opportunities to rise in leadership and learn from his legislative skill,“ Shapiro said in a statement calling him a ”tireless fighter for his community.”

Primary battle ahead

There was also some question of whether Evans might step down before his term expires, which would give the Democratic city committee the say in whom to nominate for a special election. His decision to serve his full term sets up an open primary for a Philadelphia congressional seat for the first time in a dozen years.

In the 2014 Democratic primary, Boyle beat a field that included former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies, state Sen. Daylin Leach, and former Montgomery County Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh. The incumbent, Allyson Schwartz, resigned to run for governor.

The Third Congressional District is the only majority-Black district in the state, with a population of about 759,000 people. (In addition to Boyle in the eastern and Northeast parts of Philadelphia, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, represents the southernmost section of the city as part of the Fifth District, which encompasses Delaware County and parts of Chester and Montgomery Counties.)

Street would enter the race with considerable name recognition and a political network from a term as party chair.

Cephas, who chairs the Philadelphia caucus in Harrisburg, would likely benefit from political allies like Sen. Vincent Hughes in the west, a political alliance previously represented by former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who lost to Evans in the 2016 Democratic primary after indictment (and subsequent conviction) on federal bribery, fraud, and related charges.

Cephas called Evans “a trailblazer for Philadelphia” who “delivered real results for neighborhoods across our city,” on school funding, affordable housing, economic opportunity, and food access.

Rabb, who has repeatedly beaten Democratic city committee-backed candidates to win big in his district, could carve out a more progressive lane. Rabb said he “remained open to running” for the seat in a brief statement Monday.

Street lauded Evans as a former mentor whom he called a “quiet icon.”

“Never flashy, but always formidable. A man of deep principle who used his influence not for power, but for progress,” Street said.

“His presence in the halls of power will be missed, but his impact will be felt for generations.”

Germantown cradle to Congress

Evans, born in North Philadelphia and raised in Germantown and West Oak Lane, started his career as a city public school teacher and a community organizer with the Urban League. He still lives in a home just blocks from where he grew up.

He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980 at just 26 years old and made history there as the first Black chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Evans has focused his career on helping poor and working-class people and families in the city. While in Harrisburg, he worked to bring more healthy grocery stores to the city and helped create the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, which became a model for the nationwide CHIP program.

He was elected to Congress in 2016, where he serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security, Medicare, taxes, and trade.

As murmurs of challenges grew louder in recent months, Evans was a steady presence on the hill railing against President Donald Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill budget package, which includes provisions that would make significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Evans said in a statement that in lieu of campaigning for his own reelection, he planned to focus on increasing voter turnout in Philadelphia and helping Democrats take back the majority in the House. He also offered some advice to members of his party.

“Finally, I want to say this to my fellow elected officials: We must do a better job of listening — truly listening — to the people we represent," he said.

“The challenges our constituents face are real, and they deserve leaders who are present, responsive, and willing to act boldly on their behalf.”

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