Lewis George leads unsettled D.C. mayoral primary

Janeese Lewis George held a clear lead Wednesday in Washington, D.C.’s Democratic mayoral primary, but the race remained unresolved as election officials continued counting ballots in the city’s first ranked-choice primary election.

With roughly two-thirds of the expected vote counted, Lewis George, a City Council member and democratic socialist, had 53% of first-place votes, NBC News reported. Former City Council member Kenyan McDuffie was second with 37%, while five other Democratic candidates split the remaining vote. CBS News reported that Lewis George had a lead with 64% of the vote counted and had not projected a winner.

Neither Lewis George nor McDuffie has declared victory. On Wednesday morning, McDuffie urged patience while ballots are tallied. “We respect that process, and we are going to see it through,” he said.

The contest is the first D.C. primary conducted under ranked-choice voting. Voters can select one candidate or rank multiple candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, lower-performing candidates are eliminated and their votes are reassigned to voters’ next choices until one candidate has more than 50%.

The city also automatically mails ballots to all registered voters, and many residents return ballots by mail or drop box, contributing to a counting process that can extend beyond election night.

The Democratic primary is the decisive contest in heavily Democratic Washington. The winner will be heavily favored in November and will succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is not seeking a fourth term.

The campaign unfolded amid sharp debate over the city’s relationship with President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. Both Lewis George and McDuffie have said D.C. residents should choose their mayor and that the city should preserve home rule, the local self-government system created by Congress in 1973. Because D.C. is a federal district, Congress retains significant budget and legislative oversight and could undo the home rule law.

At Lewis George’s election night event, she pledged to defend the city’s autonomy. “If there was any doubt, right now we lay it to rest,” she said, according to The Associated Press. “It is the people of D.C. who elect the mayor.”

At his event, McDuffie said the city is “under threat,” but added, “Donald Trump does not run Washington, D.C.” After Trump said last week that “we won’t put up with it” if Lewis George wins and suggested he might consider a federal takeover of the city, both leading candidates rejected the remarks.

“Threatening Home Rule because you do not like how residents vote is an attack on democracy itself. The people of D.C. elect the mayor of D.C. And they want someone who will stand up to Donald Trump,” Lewis George said.

McDuffie said, “The stakes of this election couldn’t be higher, but D.C. decides who will be the next mayor, not Donald Trump.”

Trump, asked how he would react if Lewis George became mayor, said, “Well, I wouldn’t like it and maybe we’d take back Washington and run it on the federal basis. We won’t put up with it.” He has sought to expand his administration’s influence in the city, including through a temporary federal law enforcement takeover and the continued presence of the National Guard. Trump has said those steps made Washington safer.

The candidates also split on local policy. Lewis George ran to McDuffie’s left, calling for universal affordable child care, more government-backed housing and expanded social programs. She opposes extending youth curfews. McDuffie campaigned on lowering the cost of living and strengthening public safety, supports expanded youth curfews as a “common sense” policy, and worked with Bowser on business-friendly projects, including efforts to bring the Commanders football team back to Washington. Bowser has endorsed him.