HARRISBURG–On Saturday, June 18, 2022, the Democrat Pennsylvania State Committee voted to elect PA Senator Sharif Street, who served as the Vice-Chair for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party for four years – as the first African American Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party by a vote of 174 to 138.
Chairman Street offered the following statement following his historic win.
“This weekend, we had a family exercise in selecting new leadership. But make no mistake, the PA Democratic Party is a family. We are unified in electing Josh Shapiro as our next governor. We are unified in flipping the US Senate by electing John Fetterman, and we are unified in ensuring that we do everything we can to protect your right to vote, a woman’s right to choose, and workers’ rights to unionize. I am honored to be elected to lead our party forward. We will prioritize connecting with Democratic voters in every part of our state, building a foundation to elect good candidates on all levels of government, engaging communities that feel forgotten and connecting our Party’s ideals to their everyday problems.”
A resounding and historic victory on Juneteenth’s eve, Senator Street is the first African American chair – in the 230 years of the state committee’s existence – to lead the PA Democratic Party. He received broad support from state committee members, including those from rural Pennsylvania, African Americans and Latinos. He campaigned on his record as vice-chair in which he traveled 50,000 miles around the commonwealth to engage all communities, progressives and black and brown voters in urban population centers as well as rural Pennsylvanians.
As a state senator he has championed policy that appeals to all communities, including criminal justice reform, ending cannabis prohibition, gun violence reduction and community safety funding. His affinity to connect across communities contributed to him being named Honorary Co-Chair of Pennsylvania Agriculture Democrats, awarded by the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund as an LGBT Ally and as a recipient of the Jefferson Award for his service to rural Democrats.
He has demonstrated an ability to provide effective leadership by being a problem solver and most importantly, a unifying force within the party. Chairman Street’s immediate focus will be to unite the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to flip a United States Senate seat by electing John Fetterman and electing Josh Shapiro as the next Governor of Pennsylvania. He will also focus on building a foundation to elect good Democratic candidates at every level of government, including school board members, township supervisors, county commissioners, and state legislators in the House and Senate.
