2026 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

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2026 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
November 3, 2026
 
Nominee Janeese Lewis George Robert L. Gross
Party Democratic DC Statehood Green
Incumbent Mayor

Muriel Bowser
Democratic


The 2026 Washington, D.C., mayoral election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the mayor of Washington, D.C. Incumbent mayor Muriel Bowser is retiring after serving three consecutive four-year terms.[1] Primary elections were held on June 16, 2026 to select party nominees.[2]

The Democratic Party nominee has won every mayoral election in D.C. since the position was established as an electoral office in 1974. This will be the first D.C. election to use ranked-choice voting, after Initiative 83 was approved in a landslide victory in 2024.[3]

Democratic primary

Mayoral candidates at a debate hosted by The 51st April 20, 2026

Candidates

Democratic candidates Janeese Lewis George, Gary Goodweather, Ernest Johnson, Vincent Orange and Rini Sampath attend a panel at George Washington University

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Did not qualify

  • Regan Jones, motivational speaker[14]

Declined

Endorsements

Gary Goodweather

Organizations

Janeese Lewis George

U.S. representatives

Local officials

Labor unions

Organizations

Political parties

Newspapers

Kenyan McDuffie

Executive branch officials

U.S. senators

Local officials

Party officials

Organizations

Newspapers

Rini Sampath

Organizations

Declined to endorse

U.S. senators

Local Officials

Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of January 31, 2026
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Janeese Lewis George (D) $70,017 $171,537 $117,944
Gary Goodweather (D) $302,091 $82,368 $225,609
Kenyan McDuffie (D) $288,750 $13,820 $274,930
Tarib Muhammad (D) $6,054 $6,369 $-316
Source: District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance[50]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size[b]		 Margin
of error		 Gary
Goodweather		 Ernest
Johnson		 Janeese
Lewis George		 Kenyan
McDuffie		 Vincent
Orange		 Rini
Sampath		 Hope
Solomon		 Other Undecided
The Washington Post/George Mason University/Braun Research[51] May 27 – June 1, 2026 836 (LV) ± 3.7% 3% 1% 36% 25% 4% 3% 1% 2%[c] 25%
City Cast DC/True Dot[52] May 12–17, 2026 487 (RV) ± 4.4% 7% 3% 39%[d] 34% 5% 4% 2% 6%[e] –

Results

Democratic primary results[53][54]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janeese Lewis George 76,216 54.13
Democratic Kenyan McDuffie 49,387 35.08
Democratic Rini Sampath 4,543 3.23
Democratic Gary Goodweather 4,401 3.13
Democratic Vincent Orange 3,578 2.54
Democratic Hope Solomon 1,499 1.06
Democratic Ernest Johnson 715 0.51
Write-in 462 0.33
Total votes 140,801 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Did not qualify

Results

Republican primary results[54]
Party Candidate Votes %
Write-in 1,250 100.00
Total votes 1,250 100.00

Statehood Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

  • Robert L. Gross, information technology specialist[5][55]

Did not qualify

Results

Statehood Green primary[54]
Party Candidate Votes %
DC Statehood Green Robert L. Gross 407 53.84
Write-in 349 46.16
Total votes 756 100.00

Independent and third party candidates

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

  • Charles Breedlove[55]
  • Michael Arega, pastor (One Home Party)[55]
  • Myrtle Alexander, businesswoman[55]
  • Da’Moni Ivey[55]
  • Nadeem Adam Khan, Engineer[55]
  • Robert Lee[55]
  • James McMorris, ministerial president[55]
  • Michael Poindexter, general counsel for the District of Columbia Contract Appeals Board[55]
  • Rami Chalabi, architect[55]
  • Darious Scott[55]
  • Christopher Teague, cyber security director[55]

Declined

Notes

  1. Bowser stated that she supports Kenyan Duffie, but is "not endorsing ... for mayor, because I'm stepping off the political stage."
  2. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. "Someone else" & "None" with 1%
  4. Including voters who lean towards a given candidate
  5. "Other" & "Would not vote" with 3%

References

  1. Flynn, Meagan; O'Connell, Jonathan; Gathright, Jenny (November 25, 2025). "D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  2. "2026 Elections", District of Columbia Board of Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  3. Hutchinson, Rachel; Otis, Deb (April 23, 2026). "How ranked choice voting is impacting the Washington, DC primary". FairVote. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  4. "Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George to be next mayor of Washington DC". The Guardian. June 18, 2026. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  5. "2026 Elections | District of Columbia Board of Elections". www.dcboe.org. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  6. "Civil Rights Attorney Yaida Ford Announces Candidacy for Mayor of Washington, D.C." The National Law Review. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  7. Bell, Zoe (October 24, 2025). "DC Mayoral Candidate Seeks to Embody Tikkun Olam". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  8. Jr, Sam Plo Kwia Collins (April 28, 2026). "Beyond Lewis George and McDuffie: The Other Mayoral Candidates Aiming for the Throne". The Washington Informer. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  9. Flynn, Meagan (January 14, 2026). "Kenyan McDuffie launches campaign for D.C. mayor". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  10. "Talib Karim Muhammad enters DC's Mayoral race". WUSA. December 23, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  11. Gathright, Jenny (January 3, 2026). "Former D.C. Council member Vincent Orange running for mayor". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  12. Dil, Cuneyt (February 18, 2026). "Exclusive: D.C.'s snowstorm failures leads resident to run for mayor". Axios. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  13. Dil, Cuneyt (February 13, 2026). "DOGE'd federal worker runs for mayor". Axios. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  14. "Active Candidates List". Office of Campaign Finance DC. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  15. Dil, Cuneyt (January 30, 2026). "Scoop: No, Randy Clarke will not run for D.C. mayor". Axios. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  16. Allen, Ike (February 3, 2026). "DC Politics Is About to Get Wild". Washingtonian. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  17. Dil, Cuneyt (April 13, 2026). "Exclusive: Janeese Lewis George nabs endorsement from former AG Karl Racine". Axios. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  18. Wu, Nicholas; Fuchs, Hailey (September 18, 2025). "Eleanor Holmes Norton is facing her most serious political threat in decades". Politico. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  19. Austermuhle, Martin (March 19, 2026). "DC mayoral race kicks off with jabs on Pepco and experience". The 51st. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  20. "DC Voter Guide 2026: Meet the mayoral candidates vying to replace Muriel Bowser". WAMU. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  21. Dutton, Christa (June 14, 2026). "Congressional Democrats Are Checked Out of D.C.'s Mayoral Race". NOTUS. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  22. "Endorsements". Janeese Lewis George for DC Mayor. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  23. Dil, Cuneyt (May 1, 2026). "D.C. mayor race: Who's endorsed Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie". Axios. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  24. "In D.C. mayoral bid, Lewis George pledges universal child care, social housing". The Washington Post. January 15, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  25. "Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is running for DC mayor". The 51st. December 1, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  26. Collins Jr, Sam Plo Kwia (June 3, 2026). "The Collins D.C. Council Report: Amid Opponent's Attacks, Mayoral Candidate Janeese Lewis George Stands Firm in Her Convictions". The Washington Informer. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  27. "Janeese Lewis George". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  28. "Lewis George gains early momentum in D.C. mayoral bid with union support". The Washington Post. December 18, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  29. "Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. Mayor and Robert White for D.C. Delegate to U.S. House". AFGE. May 28, 2026. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  30. Parks, Molly (June 4, 2026). "Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder endorses Kenyan McDuffie for DC mayor". Washington Examiner. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  31. "Endorsements". Advocates for Trans Equality. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  32. Chibbaro Jr, Lou (May 14, 2026). "Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. mayor". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  33. "CASA in Action is proud to endorse Councilmember Janeese Lewis George for DC Mayor". Instagram. casainaction_org. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
  34. "Free DC endorses Janeese Lewis George for mayor". DCNewsNow. March 22, 2026. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  35. "Lewis George aims to reassure Jewish leaders after 'Zionism' response in survey". The Washington Post. March 29, 2026. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  36. Daigon, Glenn (March 3, 2026). "Will D.C.'s Mayoral Election be a Rerun of New York City's?". Progressive. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  37. Salamy, Elissa (February 26, 2026). "Here's who is running in DC's mayoral primary on June 16". FOX 5 DC. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  38. Sayles, Megan (June 5, 2026). "AFRO endorses candidates in key midterm primary races". Baltimore Afro-American. p. A1. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  39. "5/27/26☀️ AM". Punchbowl News. May 27, 2026. Retrieved May 28, 2026. Former DNC Chair Tom Perez is endorsing D.C. mayoral hopeful Kenyan McDuffie. Perez worked with McDuffie in the Obama administration.
  40. Austermuhle, Martin (March 19, 2026). "Sharon Pratt endorses Kenyan McDuffie in DC mayoral race". The 51st. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  41. Flynn, Meagan; Gathright, Jenny (March 8, 2026). "As D.C.'s mayor race heats up, stark contrasts emerge in the two front-runners". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  42. "Sharon Pratt endorses Kenyan McDuffie in DC mayoral race". WUSA. February 26, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  43. Flynn, Meagan (May 7, 2026). "Former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams endorses McDuffie in Democratic primary". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  44. Parks, Molly (June 10, 2026). "Establishment backs McDuffie for DC mayor, unions bolster Lewis George". Washington Examiner. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  45. "DMV New Liberals Endorse McDuffie for DC Mayor". DMV New Liberals. April 15, 2026.
  46. "DC mayoral candidates receive major endorsements". WUSA9. March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  47. Spiegel, Anna (May 18, 2026). "D.C.'s restaurant industry is picking sides in the mayor's race". Axios. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  48. "Editorial: Primary Choices in Maryland, DC". Washington Jewish Week. May 27, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  49. Dil, Cuneyt (June 9, 2026). "Exclusive: Bowser backs McDuffie, but stops short of mayoral endorsement". Axios. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  50. "Filer Reports". fairelections.ocf.dc..gov. District of Columbia Board of Elections. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  51. "Washington Post-Schar School Poll" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  52. Schaffer, Michael (May 20, 2026). "City Cast DC Poll: Lewis George Leads for Mayor; Ranked Choice Could Boost McDuffie". City Cast DC. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  53. "District of Columbia Mayor Primary Results 2026". NBC News. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  54. "Primary and Special Election 2026 - Election Night Unofficial Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  55. Smith, Jillian (April 20, 2026). "DC mayoral candidates participate in public forum". FOX 5 DC. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  56. https://www.dcnewsnow.com/your-local-election-headquarters/meet-your-2026-mayoral-candidates-rhonda-hamilton-and-her-independent-approach-to-dc-mayor/
  57. Dil, Cuneyt (June 26, 2025). "D.C. progressives want their own Zohran Mamdani vs. Mayor Bowser". Axios. Retrieved June 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

Official campaign websites