A socialist Pennsylvania lawmaker running for Congress cast the only vote against a bill upgrading the charge of trafficking an infant, in addition to voting against a bill funding child advocacy centers a couple weeks before his primary.
Democratic State Rep. Chris Rabb stood alone in opposing legislation that would elevate infant trafficking from a misdemeanor to a first-degree felony, along with a separate measure routing fines from convicted child sex offenders into a fund supporting child advocacy centers, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Both bills cleared the state House Judiciary Committee on a 25-1 tally Monday. Rabb is one of three frontrunners in the May 19 Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District.
Rabb’s progressive bona fides are well documented. His backers include the Democratic Socialists of America, Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, and members of the Squad such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, City & State Pennsylvania reported. Rabb has compared his campaign’s energy to Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral run, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Alleged Child Fight Club ‘Ringleader’ Learns Fate In Court)
The package included six bills total, with the rest advancing through committee with little to no opposition, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported. Republican State Rep. Donna Scheuren, from Montgomery County, authored House Bill 910 to close what she described as a gap allowing infant traffickers to face only a first-degree misdemeanor.
Chris Rabb takes controversial vote against sex trafficking legislation two weeks before congressional election https://t.co/TJLHGNVwR7
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) May 5, 2026
Rabb defended his position to the Inquirer by arguing the trafficking bill could ensnare a parent who pays a relative or friend for child care. He called the advocacy center funding mechanism a “perverse financial incentive to lock up more people” and pledged to push an amendment to create an alternative way to fund the advocacy centers. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania also opposes the trafficking bill.
Rabb’s Democratic rivals went on offense. Pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford told the Inquirer that Rabb’s votes are “disqualifying — not because they are politically convenient to attack, but because they are wrong.” A spokesperson for State Sen. Sharif Street accused Rabb of “pandering to a small group of extremists than delivering results for Philadelphians.”
Rabb has previously voted against bills strengthening hate crime penalties, citing concerns about mass incarceration, according to the Inquirer.