Government & Politics

Movita Johnson-Harrell wins state House election to represent West Philadelphia district

By: Sarah Anne Hughes - March 12, 2019 9:38 pm

Movita Johnson-Harrell (Courtesy campaign Facebook page)

Movita Johnson-Harrell will be the next state House representative for West Philadelphia’s 190th District.

With 75 of 80 precincts reporting, Johnson-Harrell had more than 66 percent of the vote in the special election as of 9:50 p.m. Tuesday. She faced two independent candidates and one Republican.

She’ll succeed Vanessa Lowery Brown, who resigned in December after being sentenced to probation for taking bribes. Brown won re-election in November.

Johnson-Harrell started a foundation in 2011 after her son Charles was murdered by two gunmen at age 18. Most recently, she served as interim supervisor of victims services in Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office.

Because of Johnson-Harrell’s activism, the pro-gun control CeaseFirePA political action committee independently paid for $3,000 worth of phone calls and digital ads to support her candidacy.

Johnson-Harrell said she is the first Muslim woman elected to the state House.

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Sarah Anne Hughes

Associate Editor Sarah Anne Hughes covers the governor and Pennsylvania's agencies. Before joining the Capital-Star, she was the state capitol reporter for Billy Penn and The Incline, and a 2018 corps member for Report for America. She was previously managing editor of Washington City Paper, editor-in-chief of DCist, and a national blogger for The Washington Post.