Councilman Jimmy Harrity clinches final at-large Council spot in Philly’s Democratic primary

City Councilmember Jimmy Harrity appears headed for a first full four-year term in office after being declared the winner of the fifth at-large Council spot in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.

The Associated Press called the race late Friday night for Harrity with 6% of the expected vote, and 96.4% of the votes counted.

Harrity, first elected just six months ago after Democratic party leaders tapped him to fill a vacancy through a special election, beat 22 other contenders for the last at-large nomination. He was elected to fill one of the two at-large seats vacated by councilmembers who quit to join the mayoral race.

A Kensington resident, Harrity, 54, is a former aide to State Sen. Sharif Street and a popular personality in the Democratic party.

“Thank you, Philadelphia, for your vote,” Harrity tweeted Friday. “I’m ready to do the work and see our city thrive once again.”

» READ MORE: Who won Philadelphia's at-large city council primary?

Harrity joins incumbent Councilmembers Isaiah Thomas and Katherine Gilmore Richardson, housing and civil rights lawyer Rue Landau and Nina Ahmad, a women’s rights advocate, developer, and former deputy mayor, on the Democratic slate in November’s general election.

The five nominees are all but guaranteed to prevail in the November election, given the city’s heavily blue electorate. Landau would become the first openly LGBTQ Council member.

On the Republican side, the AP called the last spot for Mary Jane Kelly for an at-large Council seat. Kelly had 15.2% of the expected vote with 97.7% counted, the AP said. She joins four other party-backed candidates to secure the nomination: Drew Murray, Frank Cristinzio, Jim Hasher, and Gary Grisafi.

Tuesday’s primary saw a historic win for Cherelle Parker, who won the Democratic nomination for mayor and is expected to become the first female mayor in Philadelphia history.

» READ MORE: How Cherelle Parker won