By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor

In an open letter Friday, Bob Brady’s primary challenger zinged the Congressman and Philadelphia Democratic Committee Chairman for his support of the Republican-drawn congressional map.

Jimmie Moore, an attorney and recently retired judge, is running a grassroots campaign relying on support from the 1st district’s large African American population.

In, “An Open Letter to Robert Brady, Honorary Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party,” Moore accuses the Congressman of complicity with the GOP.

“Despite the new map’s overwhelming favorability to the GOP, it seemed that Republicans in the General Assembly would not have enough votes to pass the redistricting plan- that was, until you stepped up and started rounding votes in support of the GOP plan,” Moore wrote.

“It has been widely reported that Republican leaders in the General Assembly turned to you to secure the necessary votes for passage. Some speculate that you agreed to do this in exchange for a favorable re-drawing of your own congressional district. While the Democratic party as a whole was the big loser in the redistricting process, you were among the biggest winners.”

Brady has said that while he liked the way his district was redrawn, he didn’t strong-arm legislators into supporting it.

By all accounts, Moore has a tough (read: impossible) road ahead in his challenge to Brady, a powerhouse in Philly politics. If the 1st district was difficult before, it’s harder for him now. Brady acquired Democratic voters in northeast Philly and Delaware County, while shedding African American voters (a 15 to 20 percent swing toward white voters). Moore lives in Brady’s 34th ward, so cutting him out of the district was never feasible.

And even before one considers demographic factors, Brady’s immense network of personal and political allies makes him one of the most secure incumbents in city politics.

Brady took lumps from a number Democrats who noted that the map made it much tougher to retake several suburban Philadelphia swing districts. But criticism from the rest of Pa. seldom penetrates politicos in the city; Brady and his numerous allies in the state legislature supported it.