The five mayoral candidates who lost to former city councilman Jim Kenney in the May 19 primary gathered Thursday to give him their joint endorsement.

The group of six — Judge Nelson Diaz, Sen. Anthony Williams, Lynne Abraham, T. Milton Street, and Doug Oliver — lunched together at Sabrina's Cafe on Callowhill to share their support for the Democratic mayoral nominee, who won by 56 percent of the vote.

Kenney said that due to conflicting schedules, the endorsement could not have happened sooner. The group joked about how they missed sitting around the table as they had at countless mayoral forums.

"You have to remember this is not just my vision," Kenney said. "We need everybody standing behind me and everybody that they represent, everybody that voted for them, we all need to be on the same team moving forward."

Many remarked about the overall civility of this group compared to primaries past.

Street recalled how racial tensions across the city were exploded by the Wilson Goode and Frank Rizzo mayoral campaign in 1982. With a diverse group of candidates, civility was necessary.

"We were also sensitive to the fact that we could have done more damage than good, had we not kept things civil and stuck to the issues," Street said.

Williams, once the presumed frontrunner in the race, offered his explicit support for Kenney.

"It's really about Jim and vision not so much about us," Williams said. "We're now the backup singers of the Temptations."

Diaz added that, as a lifelong Democrat, there is no way he could offer his support to a Republican in the race.