How Kamala Harris' big bet on Philly flopped

Driving the news: While Philly is a heavily Democratic city and voted overwhelmingly for Harris, the party's voters failed to show up in the historic numbers needed to make up for Republican gains elsewhere in the state.

• Meanwhile, President-elect Trump built on his 2020 numbers in Philly — and received more Republican votes statewide than any candidate in Pennsylvania history.

👀 The intrigue: Philly has seen declines in its overall turnout and its share of the statewide vote has fallen in recent elections, per the Inquirer.

• Tuesday's lackluster showing from Democrats here renews questions about our influence in statewide races.

📉 By the numbers: Overall turnout in Philly was nearly 63%, per unofficial results and 99% of precincts reporting.

• Since 2004, turnout in the city has ranged between 64% and nearly 69%.

🔎 Zoom in: At least 547,700 voters cast ballots for Harris as of yesterday, down from around 604,000 votes for Biden four years ago.

• Trump received at least 140,300 votes, up from nearly 133,000 in 2020. He also won at least five of the city's 66 wards, two more than in the last election.

Friction point: The longtime head of Philly's Democratic committee, Bob Brady, and Harris' camp traded barbs blaming each other on Wednesday.

• Brady complained the Harris campaign didn't spend as much money on the city's get-out-the-vote effort as past campaigns or "show us any respect," per the Inquirer.
• In a statement to Axios, Brendan McPhillips, a senior Harris campaign advisor in Pennsylvania, criticized Brady's leadership and touted the millions of doors that her team knocked on.

Catch up quick: Harris bet big on Philly.

• Her first rally with her running mate was in the city, and she campaigned here repeatedly in the final weeks before the election.
• The Benjamin Franklin Parkway was the backdrop for her massive rally on the eve of Election Day.

What they're saying: It's time for the Democratic Party in Philly to start worrying, political consultant Mustafa Rashed tells Axios.

• If Philadelphia loses sway in statewide politics, future campaigns might spend less time, resources and money in the city: "If you can win Pennsylvania without Philadelphia, people will do that," he says.

Larry Ceisler, an executive at a political consulting firm, tells Axios that Philly Democrats' underperformance may signal a larger issue: voters' lack of faith in the government to solve their problems.

• "Democrats need to learn a lesson," he said. "They have to get back to the point where they are looked upon as the party that can be competent and understand what everyday Americans are experiencing."