Janeese Lewis George Leads Big in D.C. Mayoral Primary

Janeese Lewis George took an early and significant lead in the District of Columbia’s bitterly contested Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night, coming one step closer to a progressive takeover of the city’s top office as it faces significant challenges from a floundering economy and increasingly aggressive Republican interference from the White House and Congress.

Lewis George, a two-term D.C. Council member for Ward 4 and a self-identified democratic socialist, claimed 53% of the votes to 37% for Kenyan McDuffie, her main competitor, according to an initial tally released by the D.C. Board of Elections of in-person votes from Election Day and a weeklong early-voting period, as well as mail ballots received before Tuesday.

Five other mayoral contenders — Vincent Orange, Gary Goodweather, Rini Sampath, Hope Solomon and Ernest Johnson — trailed further behind.

“Oh my god,” she said to a crowd of cheering supporters at a victory party at the Howard Theatre in Shaw. “If there ever was any doubt, let it now be laid to rest. It is the people of D.C. who elect the mayor of D.C. What seemed like a distant dream is history unfolding before our eyes.”

Lewis George did not go as far as claiming victory, largely because the race will remain undecided for at least a few more days as the board continues to count what’s expected to be tens of thousands of mail ballots that arrived on Election Day. Once those ballots are processed, multiple rounds of tabulation under the city’s new system of ranked-choice voting will occur, potentially reshuffling some of the final results.

Lewis George supporters wait for her remarks at The Howard Theatre. Violet Jira/NOTUS

Still, her showing was impressive, leading seven of D.C.’s eight wards and coming within three percentage points of McDuffie in Ward 3, where centrist and business-friendly mayoral candidates have often racked up votes.

Even supporters of McDuffie seemed resigned to Lewis George eventually being declared victor.

“Game over. He needs to win nearly 70% of what’s left,” texted Chuck Thies, a longtime political operator and analyst in D.C., following the release of the results just before 11 p.m. He added a qualifier to his analysis: “Rough math, been drinking.”

Results in other races seemed closer to being settled. In the race to succeed retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton as the city’s nonvoting representative in the U.S. House, Council member Robert White took a commanding lead over Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, 63 to 22. And in a special election for an independent At-Large seat on the Council, former lawmaker Elissa Silverman seemed on the cusp of a comeback, taking 55% of the vote against incumbent Council member Doni Crawford.

Zachary Parker (Ward 5) and Charles Allen (Ward 6) similarly jumped ahead of their respective challengers, while D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin and Attorney General Brian Schwalb faced no challengers at all. In Ward 1, democratic socialist Aparna Raj was leading her four challengers. In a crowded race for an At-Large seat, Oye Owolewa led his eight competitors.

The mayoral contest was the marquee race this year, setting two former Council colleagues from different wings of the Democratic Party against each other in the first open fight for the city’s top job in 12 years. Retiring Mayor Muriel Bowser represented a steady-if-centrist brand of liberal leadership, one that McDuffie seemed eager to inherit. Lewis George, on the other hand, promised more sweeping changes — some of which critics derided as too expensive, others as too likely to anger President Donald Trump.

The specter of Trump hovered above the campaign through to Election Day. His threats to “take back Washington” — made during a freewheeling press conference in the Oval Office five days before the primary — resonated with voters who cast ballots on Tuesday, with some saying it steeled their resolve to vote for one candidate and others admitting it remained in the back of their minds as they made their final decisions.

“I voted for Janeese,” said Ward 4 resident and charter school teacher Cosby Hunt as he left the Chevy Chase Community Center, where he voted early on Tuesday. “When Trump says, ‘If this person’s the mayor, I’m going to take over the city,’ it kind of makes me want to say, ‘OK, bring it.’ I’m not going to be bullied.”

That was the same sentiment shared by Lewis George herself, who appeared emboldened by Trump’s brief interjection in the city’s mayoral race.

“The president saying he would revoke home rule based on his opinion of who he wants voters to elect, to me, is an attack on democracy,” she said while speaking to campaign volunteers Tuesday morning. “The people of D.C. want a mayor who will stand up to Trump.”

Mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie gives remarks Tuesday night at The Park at 14th. Torrie Herrington/NOTUS

Trump’s comments played differently among McDuffie’s supporters. While his campaign issued a brief statement agreeing that D.C.’s mayoral election would be decided by residents, sources close to the campaign also quietly said that what Trump said was what they had been trying to communicate themselves: Lewis George would be too risky for D.C.

And that possibility weighed on the mind of Ward 3 voter Mariah Litowitz as she cast her own ballot on Tuesday.

“I think it’s really terrifying, but that’s also the risk of being in D.C. and not having statehood. Part of me was like, ‘Do you vote for that person because you know they’ll get under Trump’s skin? Or, do you not vote for that person because it might impact the autonomy of the city?’” said Litowitz, who declined to say who she voted for. “It was in the back of my mind.”

Closing Arguments

When McDuffie arrived at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center on Tuesday morning to cast his ballot, he was flanked by his wife and oldest daughter. “I’m pretty sure that I got at least three votes in this election,” he told reporters with a laugh.

But when pressed on recent polling that found him trailing Lewis George, McDuffie dismissed the numbers with a reminder of his political track record — including his successful council races in 2012 and 2022.

“I’m extraordinarily confident, because people have counted me out my entire life,” he said. “I am confident the voters of Washington, D.C., will vote for experience; somebody who’s going to deliver results — they’re going to vote for the best-qualified candidate in this race.”

McDuffie at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center on Tuesday after casting his ballot. Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS

By late morning, McDuffie and a crowd of supporters rolled into the parking lot of the Hillcrest Recreation Center. Shortly afterward, Lewis George and her contingent arrived to set up on the opposite side.

After the two candidates shook hands, the asphalt briefly transformed into an energetic turf war.

“J-L-G!” Lewis George’s campaign chanted, dancing along to a portable speaker. As McDuffie’s team countered with its own chant, a large truck wrapped with his face arrived, blaring over a megaphone: “Vote for experience — Kenyan McDuffie; number one on the ballot.”

That experience was a deciding factor for Gene Sofer, a retired Ward 3 resident.

“I voted for McDuffie. I don’t think I’m as liberal as [Janeese] is. I think a lot of what she promises she can’t deliver. The city has no money, the city is beholden to Congress,” Sofer said, before referencing McDuffie’s 13 years on the D.C. Council. “I believe that McDuffie is a workhorse, not a showhorse.”

But the experience argument cut differently for Denise Dunovant, a longtime Ward 7 voter who cast her ballot at the Benning Stoddert Recreation Center along East Capitol Street. “She’s new blood,” she said of Lewis George, adding that she believed the Ward 4 lawmaker would do more to make D.C. a more affordable place to live.

Impact of Ranked-Choice Voting

At Ward 6’s Eastern Market polling place, the pre-work rush to the ballot box was more of a slow trickle.

“This is definitely a neighborhood that does vote early and by mail,” said Lisa Raymond, a Democrat running in the crowded at-large primary race to replace retiring Council member Anita Bonds. “I did my final door knock in the neighborhood [last night] and almost everyone that I talked to, I’d say 90%, had already voted.”

Raymond said ranked-choice voting, which D.C. is debuting this year, has confused constituents she’s spoken to, particularly seniors.

Chris Astilla, a 49-year-old music teacher living in Ward 6, also didn’t take well to the new system. Confused, he wound up only voting for his first choices: McDuffie for mayor, Pinto for congressional delegate and Charles Allen for Ward 6 Council member.

“My mindset is if you want that person, that’s who you support,” said Astilla.

Others liked the new system. Annie Hall, a 29-year-old lecturer at American University, felt free to cast her vote for less-popular candidates without feeling like it was a waste.

“I felt a little bit more comfortable actually going for a candidate that I [think] will spice things up a bit, even if they’re not the selected one, because of how it shakes out in the primary,” said Hall, who ranked long-shot candidates Hope Solomon first for mayor and Greg Jaczko for congressional delegate.

Lewis George, a two-term D.C. Council member for Ward 4 and a self-identified democratic socialist, claimed 53% of votes. Violet Jira/NOTUS

Vernon Roe, a 46-year-old Anacostia native, and Lionel Battle, a 61-year-old Washington native, both said they didn’t care much for the city’s new ranked-choice voting system. The two men — who completed their ballots from inside a car with assistance from poll workers outside the Arthur Capper Community Center in Ward 8, because Battle is blind — said they did not fully understand it.

After a sleepy morning with remarkably light turnout, a surge of evening commuters caused long lines at vote centers just an hour before polls closed. The evening bottleneck at locations like Eastern Market, Woodridge Library and Marie Reed Elementary School was compounded by technical glitches and the new ballot format.

Sarah Graham, a spokesperson for the D.C. Board of Elections, noted that ranked-choice voting contributed to the delays. In addition, paper ballot printers broke down at multiple locations — forcing voters to use electronic machines.

Waiting Game

McDuffie’s supporters piled into The Park on 14th Street Tuesday evening, waiting in anticipation of Tuesday’s results. As the evening wore on, the large crowd who packed inside the popular club to see him appeared to grow restless.

McDuffie took the stage just before 10 p.m. He urged those in attendance to trust in the electoral process, even if final results arrived later than they desired.

“Tonight, the votes are being counted — and ranked choice votes and ballots are being tabulated as we speak. The reality is, it’s going to be a while before we know the results of this election,” McDuffie said, spurring a groan from the crowd. “I know you don’t love that, it’s going to be a while.”

Despite the uncertainty, McDuffie’s team cranked up the music as soon as he completed his remarks, and the party continued. The vibe remained hopeful. On the club’s television, “Seinfeld” played, with the local news stations having moved on from their election results coverage.