After The 51st's mayoral forum in April, attendees marked on a board how informed they felt about candidates before the event (blue) and after (red). We were thrilled to have moved the dots! (Kai Perschbacher)
June marked The 51st’s first D.C. primary since we launched! As part of our focus on community-centered journalism, we hosted our first-ever mayoral forum and delegate debate to bring your questions directly to candidates running in the D.C. primaries. Our voter guide, providing clear and accessible information about the candidates on your ballot, was read by over 50,000 of you. That’s around one-third the number of voters in this historic election! Can you believe we did the majority of this with only one full-time reporter!?
Providing this level of quality, high-impact information was a huge part of why we wanted to build The 51st in the aftermath of DCist’s abrupt closure. Studies show that when local news outlets shutter, civic engagement, voter turnout, and trust in democracy all decline as well. We were thrilled to offer resources that helped empower so many of you to participate in your communities and city in this election.
If you’ve found our coverage useful, consider becoming a member today. Your membership helps us continue producing the accountability reporting, community events, and neighborhood coverage that D.C. residents rely on.
A number of you reached out to let us know how helpful our election coverage was:
“The 51st team made a tremendous difference by helping me as I tried to make sound decisions on this primary election. It's hard to choose a candidate when all you hear is promos on how they want you to see them. I want to know what they have accomplished, what they have said about their record, and how they will play with others as they try to govern. Predicting the future is not easy! You helped by providing concise reports and by cutting through the bickering and name-calling.” -Chris
"I had been seeking the lowdown on my polling card’s long list of names. Luckily I happened upon The 51st and was comprehensively informed. All credit to everyone involved. Moving past the great election coverage and given the gutting of the Post I think you’re rapidly becoming indispensable for the city." -Mark
“I'm writing to say thank you for all of your hard work making The 51st such a great source of local news. I really appreciated your election coverage – I referred to those articles more than any other source for the primary. The 51st embodies so many of the things I love about DC and it feels so hopeful that it even exists." -Kaetochi
“I want to take this opportunity to show my immense appreciation for the 51st’s election reporting. It was far more in-depth and informative than any other source. I spent a little over two hours diving into the various articles about each race, and used the reporting to inform my decisions.” -Brenna
When Jeff Bezos gutted the Washington Post in February, we knew there was a huge hole to fill on local news and we’ve worked to serve the city as best we could. Up until recently, we’ve done this urgent work with only one full-time reporter. But so many of you have now joined The 51st as paying members that we’re growing our newsroom (we’re almost done with the hiring process!). Your testimonials keep us going, and so does your support.
A membership of any size makes a difference. The vast majority of our funding comes from members paying on average $12 a month, helping build a sustainable, independent newsroom that belongs to the people it serves. Will you join them today?
With your help, we pursue stories that hold leaders to account, demystify opaque city and civic processes, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies that make us proud to call D.C. home. Put simply, our mission is to make it easier — and more fun — to live in the District. Our members help keep local news free and independent for all:
