Just four months ago, James Francis Kenney was a City Councilman debating whether to take the plunge into the Mayoral race.

Tonight, that risk paid off.

Kenney won the Democratic nomination with an impressive 56% of the vote. 98% of the precincts are in.

State Sen. Anthony Williams finished second with 26% while Lynne Abraham came in third with 8%.

Rounding out the field were Doug Oliver (4%), Nelson Diaz (4%), and Milton Street (2%).

The sudden turnaround in fortunes is quite remarkable when viewed in full context.

Williams has been circling the office for years, while Kenney was only persuaded to run after Darrell Clarke passed and Ken Trujillo dropped out (Kenney ended up hiring many of Trujillo’s campaign staffers).

The former City Councilman is now the heavy favorite to become the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia.

Melissa Murray Bailey won the GOP nomination uncontested. Philadelphia, though, hasn’t elected a Republican Mayor since incumbent Bernard Samuel won a third term in 1948.