With less than three weeks remaining to the June 21st Democratic Primary, candidates for office have spent the last few weeks knocking on doors and participating in candidate forums and debates across the city. This year’s election marks many firsts: the first highly contested mayoral race since Bowser took office and the first mayoral primary to utilize city-wide mail-in ballots. This is also the first time since 2014 that the race for the AG has been open since Karl Racine was first elected into office and it’s the first time that two veteran councilmembers – McDuffie and Cheh have opted to not seek re-election.
The outcome of this year’s primary election may be one of the most consequential as we could see a firm progressive shift to an already left leaning Council now that McDuffie, chair of the Committee on Business and Economic Development and Cheh, chair, Committee on Transportation and the Environment are out.
In addition to the mayor and the attorney general, seven council seats are up for election including council chair. Successful candidates in the June Democratic primary will compete in the November general election. Please see below for general updates and further below for specific seats up for election.
General Update
Mayor Bowser, who is seeking a third term, will appear on the ballot along with two current members of the DC Council: At-large Councilmember Robert White and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White. James Butler, a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner will also appear on the ballot. While The Washington Post endorsed Mayor Bowser, labor unions are split between the mayor and challenger Robert White with The Washington Teacher’s Union endorsing and AG Karl Racine endorsing R. White. If Bowser is successful in the primary, both councilmembers will return to their current council seats to complete their terms. If Bowser wins the primary, we will watch for any “surprise” announcements from Racine, who could enter the race as a third-party or independent candidate…which would be another first.
Dates to Remember
- June 10 – 19: Early Voting Period
- June 21: Primary Election Day
- November 8: General Election (considered more of a formality given the District is primarily Democratic)
January 2, 2023: If any of the incumbents are unsuccessful in the June primary election, they will remain in office until 11:59pm on January 2, 2023.
Client’s can request the PDF of the entire report (which is password protected) by contacting us.
