Washington, D.C., voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots in what may be one of the most consequential elections in the district’s recent history.
As National Guardsmen patrol the streets, violent crime sees a downward trend, and President Donald Trump continues to plan new construction efforts around the city, Washingtonians will pick their next mayor, who will replace retiring Mayor Muriel Bowser and chart a new path for the city. In the mayoral race between socialist Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George and more centrist Kenyan McDuffie, voters will determine whether D.C. has an appetite for a New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani-style leader or not.
Though the slate on the ranked choice mayoral ballot tops half a dozen candidates, Lewis George and McDuffie have emerged as the front-runners, taking each other on in several pre-primary debates. Whoever wins the June 16 Democratic primary is all but assured to win the November general election in the liberal district that went 92.5% for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Lewis George, who launched her campaign with the goal of emulating Mamdani’s status-quo-bucking New York City mayoral bid, led McDuffie by 11 percentage points in an early June Washington Post–Schar School poll. If Lewis George wins the Democratic primary, her policies would likely mark a significant departure from Bowser’s relatively friendly relationship, for a blue-city mayor, with Trump throughout his second term.
On Thursday, Trump chimed in on the race in his backyard with his first major public commentary on the matchup. He threatened to buck D.C. home rule and “take back” the city if Lewis George wins, saying “we’re not going to lose our businesses.” Lewis George responded, calling Trump’s comments “an attack on democracy itself” and writing that D.C. residents “want someone who will stand up to Trump.”
The areas where the two candidates differ most are in their approaches to business and affordability issues and public safety issues. McDuffie has marketed himself as the more pro-business, affordability candidate, while Lewis George has floated more radical policy changes to address deep-rooted cost-of-living issues.
KENYAN MCDUFFIE EMPHASIZES CENTRIST PROPOSALS COMPARED TO LEWIS GEORGE’S ‘NEW YORK CITY PLAYBOOK’
While McDuffie has campaigned on investing in local small businesses and highlighted ideas such as a “Stay in DC” fund to prevent business displacement, Lewis George has talked about bolstering the city’s unemployment insurance program, cracking down on commercial landlords, and providing free spaces in district-owned or vacant commercial buildings for small businesses.
When it comes to the 2026 buzzword of affordability, McDuffie has talked about expanding the Local Child Tax Credit as part of his plan to make childcare more affordable, while Lewis George has talked about implementing universal, affordable childcare — in a Mamdani-style fashion. As Lewis George has championed things such as free buses for residents on SNAP benefits, McDuffie has marketed himself as a more centrist candidate, arguing for “economic growth with guardrails.”
In the realm of public safety, the two strongly disagree on the hot-topic of the youth curfew. Lewis George has vied strongly against imposing the popular idea, while McDuffie has consistently supported the idea of a youth curfew, given the incidents of “teen takeovers” across the city and the violence that has come from the incidents.
Despite Trump’s sharp words for Lewis George, McDuffie has also vowed to defend home rule against the Trump administration.
Both McDuffie and Lewis George have campaigned on rescinding orders that allow cooperation between the district’s Metropolitan Police Department and federal immigration authorities, working with other D.C. leaders to resist federal control over home rule, and have promised to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to advocate in favor of D.C. Although neither Lewis George nor McDuffie could name a single GOP congressman they have spoken with on Capitol Hill.
MAJOR RACES IN DC COULD CHANGE THE CITY’S STATUS QUO
The race has not been short of interpersonal drama between the two candidates either, as they have traded complaints against each other, with the Office of Campaign Finance finding this weekend that Lewis George’s campaign improperly coordinated with labor unions and an independent expenditure committee. Lewis George denied wrongdoing and called the finding “politically motivated.”
The mayoral race is just one of several key local races that could decide Washington D.C.’s political future on Tuesday, including the race for D.C.’s delegate and spots on the D.C. Council.
Voters will take to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether they align with the establishment, Bowser-backed McDuffie, or the union, progressive-backed Lewis George. Polls open at 7 a.m.
