Robert White wins D.C. delegate race

After a bruising campaign, it appears the first new D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives in more than three decades will be At-Large D.C. Councilmember Robert White. 

With partial results reported on election night, White has a decisive lead over Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto and three other candidates, winning 63% percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.

“Tonight we stand on the cusp of history,” White told a crowd of cheering supporters. Pinto called him shortly after the results were released to concede, according to multiple news outlets.

Since 1991, Eleanor Holmes Norton has served in the role, championing D.C. statehood and autonomy. Long dubbed D.C.’s “warrior on the Hill,” she has markedly slowed down and receded from public view in recent years. 

White served as a legislative staffer in Norton’s office for five years before winning his council role in 2016. He campaigned on his District bona fides — he’s a native Washingtonian, unlike Pinto — and his vision of building a national profile to advocate for statehood across the country. 

He has pledged to seek a seat on the House Appropriations Committee to better help direct funds to the city and said he would focus on helping to stabilize D.C.’s economy, in addition to continuing to advocate for statehood. 

For a job that doesn’t have much formal power (delegates can sponsor legislation and serve on committees, but they do not vote on bills before the full body), the race was embittered, especially between the two frontrunners, who are also colleagues. 

White referred to Pinto’s family as having “Mar-a-Lago connections,” a clear attempt to tie her to the race’s real villain: President Donald Trump. He also said that she wasn’t connected to many of the city’s wards, which he contrasted with his status as a fifth-generation Washingtonian. 

But Pinto, who had the clear fundraising advantage, fought back, citing her legislative record on the council and noting that D.C. has been her home since law school. 

And in the race’s most charged episode, Pinto published a document with opposition research on White on her website, including his home address and personal information about his family. While campaigns typically gather this information on opponents, releasing unedited dossiers is far less common. White called the action disqualifying. She apologized and edited out the personal details out of the report.

The other three candidates were first-timers running for office, and included a recent Norton staffer and a Democratic fundraiser. They tried to paint the acrimony between the two councilmembers as a reason to look at other campaigns instead, but failed to gain significant traction.