This Northeast Philly race pits the Doughertys against the Boyles — and the GOP thinks it can flip the seat

Everything about this year’s race in a Far Northeast Philadelphia state House district is unusual.

First, incumbent Democratic Rep. Kevin Boyle is running for reelection — without the support of his party, following an outburst at a Montgomery County bar in February.

The state Democratic Party’s campaign arm is instead supporting Boyle’s primary opponent Sean Dougherty, a former assistant public defender who is the son of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty and the nephew of former labor leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty.

That sets up a primary between two men from politically powerful Philadelphia families; Boyle’s older brother, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, has represented Philadelphia in Congress since 2014. The race will be closely watched as Democrats try to maintain and expand their narrow one-seat majority in the state House.

Republicans are targeting the seat as one that they could flip in November. Democrats hold a voter registration advantage in the district, with 59% of registered voters. But two Republicans — Aizaz Gill and Patrick Gushue — are vying for the Republican nomination and believe they could convince voters in one of the more conservative areas of deep-blue Philadelphia to send them to Harrisburg.

The outcome of the 172nd District race in November will play a role in determining which party controls the state House.

Sean Dougherty said he didn’t decide to run for the seat until a February video of Boyle’s outburst at Gaul & Co. Malt House in Rockledge began circulating online. The seven-term state representative allegedly threatened to hit female employees and “end this bar.”

Boyle has been open about his struggles with his mental health in the past. After a psychotic episode that culminated in his 2021 arrest and calls for his resignation he issued a public letter to his constituents attributing the incidents as being related to Adderall he was taking for ADHD. (There is some research that shows a relationship between psychosis and Adderall usage, but it is relatively rare.) The arrest was expunged, and he was reelected again in 2022.

Boyle’s latest episode happened days before the deadline to file to run for reelection. And although he showed up in Harrisburg to file his paperwork, Boyle has not updated his campaign social media profiles in several years and no longer has an active campaign website.

He has been absent from House sessions in recent months, has not been appearing at political events in the district, and was stripped of his committee chairmanship last week; his district office is open only by appointment. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Boyle, 44, has represented the 172nd District since 2011 and previously served as the minority chair of the powerful State Government Committee, where he oversaw the tumultuous 2020 presidential election. More recently, he championed mental health legislation to increase access to treatment.

Sean Dougherty, for his part, hasn’t started a campaign website or social media profiles yet. He said that’s due to his late start to the campaign, and that he will launch them soon. He hosted a campaign kick-off event on Friday, just about a month before the April 23 primary election.

Dougherty, 30, described his campaign so far as a whirlwind, from deciding on a Friday night before the petition filing deadline that he’d run to quitting his job as a public defender the following week. (He now works as a civil litigation lawyer at Center City’s Duffy Firm.)

“Friday morning, I’m in court telling judges I’ll be ready for trial on Monday,” Dougherty said. “Monday morning, I went in — you can’t be a defender and be political — so I said, ‘Your honor, I need a continuance. I have to quit my job today.’”

Even before Boyle’s public outburst, Dougherty said, he and others in his neighborhood thought that they did not have someone advocating for them in Harrisburg. His time as a public defender — and his life growing up in a politically powerful family — drove him to “throw my hat in the ring” once Democrats began questioning Boyle as a viable candidate.

“I want people to know that I’m Sean, I’m the neighborhood guy,” Dougherty said. “I’m easy to talk to and I’m easy to get along with. And I don’t want to sound cocky, but I think no one works harder than me. I’ve had to outwork and work harder than everyone in order to get where I’m at.”

Dougherty said he would support gun control reforms as a way to combat safety concerns, and wants to protect abortion access in Pennsylvania. Boyle has also supported gun control and abortion rights.

Republicans are targeting the seat and believe they have a shot of flipping it because it has a similar voter makeup to the district of State Rep. Martina White (R., Philadelphia). Registered voters in the 172nd District — which includes Fox Chase, Rhawnhurst, and Burholme — are 59% Democrat, 28% Republican, and 13% independent.

Gill, 31, is a consultant and leads the Burholme Town Watch and Civic Association. He managed City Councilmember Brian O’Neill’s reelection campaign last year, and previously worked in former City Commissioner Al Schmidt’s office as a community liaison. He is endorsed by the Philadelphia Republican Party, as well as O’Neill, former mayoral candidate David Oh, and U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick.

Gill immigrated to the United States with his parents from Pakistan when he was 9, as they fled religious persecution. This experience drives his commitment to civil service.

Gushue, 31, is an Afghanistan combat veteran and former Army ranger. The Father Judge High School graduate returned to the Northeast after eight years of military service, and is now pursuing a master’s in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the son of two Philadelphia Police officers and wants to continue his family’s history of public service by representing his neighbors in Harrisburg.

Both Republican candidates said they believe Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, is to blame for the district’s concerns about safety. Gushue said he supports the creation of a special prosecutor for crimes around SEPTA property in Philadelphia, while Gill said he wants to see Krasner impeached. (Krasner was impeached by the state House in 2022, but proceedings in the Senate are on hold indefinitely.)

Gushue and Gill both said said they want to increase school funding, and both support using state funds to send students to private schools.

House Democrats need to maintain control of every seat if they want to hold on to their one-seat majority. While they hope to win even more seats, keeping the seat currently held by Boyle in Democratic control is crucial for Democrats to keep control of the state House.

“It’s very important. It’s going to decide who controls the House,” said John Sabatina Sr., the city’s register of wills and the leader of the city’s 56th Ward in the Northeast. Sabatina’s ward opposed Boyle in the 2022 primary, and will support Dougherty in the April primary, he added.

Even without actively campaigning, Boyle will have the power of incumbency and name recognition on his side. But his own colleagues in the city’s delegation to Harrisburg don’t see him as a viable candidate, with its new political action committee writing checks to each of the other incumbent representatives who have primary challengers, except for Boyle.

Northeast Philly’s more conservative tilt compared with the rest of the city makes it winnable for the right Republican, both GOP candidates said.

”It’s a district that’s ripe for a pragmatic Republican,” Gill said. “Northeast Philadelphia is different. It’s a suburb that’s within the city, and it votes more conservatively than the rest of the city. It’s just the reality of it.”

And Sabatina, the Democratic ward leader, agreed.

“It’s never been firmly Democratic,” Sabatina added, looking ahead to the November general election. “A lot of people are registered Democrat and vote Republican, so I can’t tell you, I couldn’t predict what would happen.