Elissa Silverman appears to have won the At-Large special election, regaining her old seat after losing it to Kenyan McDuffie four years ago. The former councilmember earned 55% of the vote in partial first round results, and second-place finisher At-Large Councilmember Doni Crawford has conceded the race, adding to a potential wave of progressive victories in the Democratic primary.
“Across the city, voters want a councilmember who's focused on improving life for working families, and holding District government accountable to make their lives better,” Silverman told The 51st on Wednesday. While the election has not been formally called yet, she holds a decisive lead over her opponents.
During her eight years on council, Silverman was one of the council’s most left-leaning lawmakers, and among her biggest achievements was getting paid family leave passed in 2016. The former journalist was also known for asking tough questions of the city’s agencies, as well as having a combative relationship with her foes.
Throughout the campaign trail, Silverman touted herself as an experienced legislator who would focus on Trump, housing, and truancy, and she earned the backing of much of the city’s progressive establishment.
She said she is eager to collaborate with potential new colleagues on the council, like Aparna Raj and Oye Owolewa — currently showing strong leads in the Ward 1 and At-Large races, respectively — and her former colleague Janeese Lewis George, who appears on the cusp of clinching the mayorship. “It would be exciting to have an executive aligned with my values in making this a more affordable place for working families,” Silverman said.
She would serve out the remainder of the term, which ends in January, but will need to win the general election in November to serve the next full four-year term.
Crawford, a former McDuffie staffer who was appointed to temporarily fill the seat in January, won 25% of the vote. She had pitched herself as a consensus builder who could bridge the Council’s moderate and left factions, earning support from a number of pro-business groups. President of the D.C. State Board of Education Jacque Patterson earned 19%.
Crawford conceded on Wednesday evening over social media. “While we did not come away with the result we wanted, I am incredibly grateful for the journey we shared together,” Crawford wrote to voters.
The race is a comeback for Silverman, who unexpectedly lost in 2022 to McDuffie, which some have attributed to Office of Campaign Finance violations shortly before the election that were all later overturned.
In the first-choice results from Wednesday evening, Silverman won across the city except for Ward 8, where Patterson had a slight edge. Patterson had made the case that his focus on education and the fact that he’s from Ward 8 meant he could better represent the city. Crawford and Patterson, who cross-endorsed each other, also argued that Silverman’s past failures to reach Black communities is why the District needed someone new in the seat.
In her first two terms on the council, Silverman was known for her forthright, often fiery approach to legislating, and as a strong critic of Mayor Muriel Bowser. This time around, Silverman says she’ll avoid getting herself into adversarial relationships.
“Relationships are important. They're important with voters, and they're important with colleagues,” Silverman told The 51st. She says she is looking forward to working with her former coworkers on issues they feel strongly about, including with Chairman Phil Mendelson, who endorsed Crawford, on addressing truancy.
While Silverman will return to the council in July, she’ll need to balance it with another round of campaigning ahead of the November election. She plans to look at the election data to see what areas of the city she didn’t do as well in, and try to win over their support.
“I'm going to spend a lot of time there, listening to those voters and their concerns, and talking to them,” said Silverman, “and making a case that I can represent them well, too.”
Sam is a reporter with The 51st. She was a multimedia freelance journalist for a year before joining the team. Prior to that, she worked at Vox and More Perfect Union. Sam has covered a wide range of issues, from invasive vines to vaccines.
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