PHILADELPHIA — Democratic interest in primarying U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans is getting louder.

State Sen. Sharif Street, the state Democratic Party chair, said Friday he is considering a primary run against the 71-year-old Philadelphia congressman who suffered a stroke last year.

“I’m weighing my options but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the congressman,” said Street, 51, whose district includes parts of North Philadelphia.

“Congressman Evans has had some real health challenges that everyone knows about and that obviously is causing us to stand ready.”

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, 40, who represents parts of West Philadelphia and chairs the Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg, said it’s a race she is “absolutely considering.”

“I’m assessing all situations, all circumstances, with whomever is in the race,” she said.

It’s a more forceful admission of interest than either has expressed before this week, given that Evans has spent 40 years in public office, first in Harrisburg and since 2016 in Congress. Street previously said he would not run as long as Evans sought reelection.

A spokesperson for Evans’ campaign, Mike Dineen, said in a statement that “at this time the Congressman is still planning to run for reelection. He’s working hard for his constituents in Philadelphia and representing them down in Washington D.C.”

State Rep. Chris Rabb’s name has also been floated. The 55-year-old progressive lawmaker represents Mount Airy and parts of West Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill. He said while it’s not “on his bucket list ... if there was a call to action by the growing anti-fascist movement to recruit a progressive candidate for this congressional district, I would give it serious consideration.”

Speculation about the race swirled in Philly’s Democratic circles this week when a text poll popped up testing negatives on Evans, Rabb, and Cephas. All three have said they were not behind the survey.

Street, who is curiously not mentioned, also said he did not commission it.

“If I were going to spend money on a poll, I would probably want me in it,” Street said.

He suggested it could be from one of the people who have already filed paperwork to challenge Evans. They are Robin Toldens, a former city government employee and real estate agent, and Dave Oxman, a physician and associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University.

Neither campaign immediately responded to a request for comment.

The poll was sent from the generically named “Research-Polls,” a Fort Lauderdale-based business that has conducted political text surveys across the country for candidates in both parties.

The survey tests several negatives against Evans, Rabb, and Cephas. It notes Evans’ May 2024 stroke and missed votes.

“Dwight Evans is 71, in declining health and suffered a stroke in 2024 that kept him from voting in Congress for over six months,” the poll reads, before prompting survey-takers to rank how concerning the statement is.

Evans, who sometimes uses a wheelchair, has said he is healthy and fully capable of fulfilling his duties. He has missed almost no votes since returning from his rehabilitation in January.

But the spotlight on his seat has intensified in the narrowly GOP-controlled House, where three congressional Democrats have died in office this year, and as some Democrats question whether they were clear-eyed enough about former President Joe Biden’s initial decision to seek reelection.

Evans was first elected to the House in a 2016 special election to fill the seat of convicted former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah.

He has never faced a serious challenger, coasting to reelection every two years to keep the deep-blue seat. He faced no general election opponent last year after an easy primary win over Tracey Gordon, who he bested by nearly 75 points.

Street, who said he talks to Evans “all the time,” would enter the race with considerable connections in the state party and name recognition in the city.

“Congressman Evans is one of the great political figures of our era, at least, of my father’s era really,” said Street, whose father John Street is a former mayor of Philadelphia. “And so I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him. I have to weigh decisions in my life. He has to weigh decisions in his.”

A contested primary that includes Evans and Cephas would resurrect a battle between two historic Philadelphia factions — Cephas, with political allies like Sen. Vincent Hughes in the West, an alliance previously represented by Fattah, and Evans, a longtime leader of the city’s powerful Northwest Coalition, which counts Mayor Cherelle L. Parker as a member.

Cephas said she believes Evans is capable of serving another term, but that a conversation about the district’s leadership is still important.

“It’s exciting that people are looking at the future of the 3rd (Congressional District), particularly in a moment when there is so much political divide,” Cephas said. “Residents need direction and to be considered among the plethora of candidates is exciting.”

Dineen, Evans’ spokesperson, said the incumbent lawmaker had ramped up fundraising in recent months and provided a lengthy list of recent legislation and appearances.

Dineen cited several marathon sessions Evans recently sat through on the hill, including an 18-hour bill markup in the Ways and Means Committee and a marathon overnight debate about Medicaid cuts that ended with a vote that Dineen noted a “House Republican 31 years younger slept through.”

He pointed to recent appearances at news conferences in Philadelphia and in Washington, including one defending the Head Start program and another with union workers at a Whole Foods.

“In addition, he has participated in at least two town-hall-style meetings in the district, held a telephone town hall with 60,000 constituents, and has had dozens of meetings with constituents at his Philadelphia and Washington offices, again all just since January,” Dineen said.

Evans declined an interview about his reelection, saying in a short statement that it’s “governing time, not campaign time.”

Philadelphia Democratic chair Bob Brady said “everyone should still be supporting Dwight.”

“He had a stroke but he got better and now he’s back,” said Brady, a former member of Congress whose long tenure overlapped with Evans.

“Everybody has a right to run if they wanna run but I think Dwight’s still doing a good job and if he runs, I think he’ll win.”

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