North Philly State Rep. and local community activist Malcolm Kenyatta has officially entered the race for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat in 2022.
Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) made the announcement Thursday night while speaking with Joy Reid on MSNBC and later on his Twitter page.
A graduate of Philly public schools and Temple University, Kenyatta, 30, was elected to serve as state representative for the 181st district (Philadelphia County) in 2018.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Kenyatta also serves as vice chair of the Philadelphia House Delegation and is a member of Governor Wolf’s Taskforce on Suicide Prevention.
He is also the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the PA General Assembly.
Kenyatta has backed proposals to address generational poverty, raise the minimum wage and protect workers’ rights during his career as a legislator. He has also advocated for increased access to mental health care and common sense measures to address gun violence.
Politics
Kenyatta was also elected to serve as a delegate to the Democratic Convention to represent Pennsylvania’s second Congressional District in both 2016 and 2020.
Kenyatta’s announcement comes more than a week after Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman announced his own campaign for the 2022 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat. The seat is currently occupied by Sen. Pat Toomey who announced last year that he would not seek re-election in 2022 to a third term.
