In race after race in D.C.'s Democratic primary, voters indicated a desire for change, throwing their support for left-leaning candidates — starting with, but not limited to, Janeese Lewis George's decisive win in the mayoral race against her more moderate council colleague Kenyan McDuffie.
Robert White also bested his Council colleague Brooke Pinto to win the D.C. delegate seat, and Doni Crawford has conceded the special election to serve out the remainder of McDuffie’s term to Elissa Silverman. Democratic socialist Aparna Raj and fellow progressive Oye Owolewa also had strong showings, winning the Ward 1 and At-Large Council races, respectively.
Many of these candidates zeroed in on how D.C.’s affordability crisis and government inefficiency affects residents’ daily lives, particularly following this winter’s “snowcrete” disaster and months of spiking Pepco bills.
Below, you'll find all of the election results. Click the links to skip to a specific race.
It looks like D.C. is getting its first democratic socialist mayor, with Janeese Lewis George winning decisively in the race against her more moderate council colleague Kenyan McDuffie.
“We need to do something about this affordability crisis, we need leadership to be prepared to stand up against this administration for our families, and we need our government to work,” she said to a room packed with reporters at Busboys and Poets on 14th St. and V St. NW, just hours after McDuffie conceded the race on Thursday.
As of June 16, the Ward 4 councilmember had received 54% of the vote, and leads in every part of the city except for wealthy Ward 3, where McDuffie has a very slight edge. Votes are still being counted but partial results show she was strongest in Ward 1, with 66% of the vote, followed by her home base in Ward 4. McDuffie has received 36% of the first-choice vote. Read more from our reporting here.
Congressional delegate
At-Large Councilmember Robert White claimed victory with 63% of votes. In a distant second was his colleague on the council, Brooke Pinto, at 22% of the vote, who called White on election night to concede.
Kinney Zalesne, a former fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, received about 8% of the vote, followed by recent Norton staffer Trent Holbrook and former nuclear regulator Greg Jaczko, who each received less than 5%.
Norton is stepping down after three decades in office. Her retirement represents a new chapter in the city’s quest for statehood, and a chance for a different approach to the delegate role. White’s win means there will be a special election to fill his council seat. Read more from our reporting here.
At-Large councilmember
Nine Democratic candidates vied for the open At-Large seat after longtime Councilmember Anita Bonds announced she wouldn’t run for another term.
Oye Owolewa won the primary, coming out after eight rounds of ranked-choice tabulation with 50.79% of the votes. He was followed by Lisa Raymond at 28% and Kevin Chavous at 21%. More detailed results here under the RCV tab.
Despite the significance of the seat — a four-year term representing the entire city — this race has been a wild card. Few candidates had much name recognition and the race received relatively little coverage. Numerous progressive organizations threw their support behind Owolewa, though, and he was the most known to voters from his work as shadow representative.
At-Large councilmember (special election)
Elissa Silverman has 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 both At-Large Councilmember Doni Crawford and President of the D.C. State Board of Education Jacque Patterson conceded the race. Read more from our reporting here.
Ward 1 councilmember
Aparna Raj has won the Ward 1 D.C. Council Democratic primary, in the ward’s first race without an incumbent in more than three decades. A democratic socialist, Raj received 52% of the vote in the fourth round of tabulation under ranked-choice voting.
“I think people really wanted to see a positive vision and wanted to see elected leaders who had the fight,” Raj told The 51st about her campaign’s success. “I think people felt really left out and really locked out of local politics for a long time.”
At 32, Raj will be the youngest lawmaker on the council — and she stood out as the most left-leaning candidate in the crowded, five-person field. Read more from our reporting here.
Ward 5 councilmember
Councilmember Zachary Parker faced two challengers to his bid for re-election: clean energy policy staffer Bridget French and senior member of the D.C. Democratic Party Bernita Carmichael.
As of June 24, Parker led at 78% of first-choice results. Carmichael is in a far second at 14%, and French is in third with 7% of the vote.
Ward 6 councilmember
Councilmember Charles Allen ran for re-election, facing Gloria Nauden, former ANC commissioner and current CEO of Philanthropy DMV, and Michael Murphy, a litigator.
Allen received 76% of first-choice results. Nauden was in a distant second at 18%, and Murphy was in third with 6% of the vote.
Non-ranked-choice voting elections
Several races had fewer than three people on the ballot, including council chair, Ward 3 councilmember, and attorney general.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb handily won re-election with 90% of the vote.
With no one else on the ballot, Phil Mendelson will continue to serve as council chair, a role he has held for over 10 years, and Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin similarly had no challengers.
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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