D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George took a commanding early lead in the District of Columbia's Democratic mayoral primary, according to results reported overnight into Wednesday, positioning the Ward 4 progressive as the frontrunner to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser. Unofficial tallies showed Lewis George with about 52.8% of first-choice votes to roughly 36.6% for former councilmember Kenyan McDuffie.
The Associated Press had not declared a winner as of early Wednesday, in part because this was the first D.C. election conducted under ranked-choice voting, a system officials had warned would lengthen tabulation. Election workers were still counting ballots, including mail-in votes, and results were not yet certified.
The race was open because Bowser, the city's mayor since 2015, announced she would not seek a fourth term, setting up the most competitive Democratic primary for the office in years. In the heavily Democratic District, the primary winner is the overwhelming favourite to prevail in November's general election.
Lewis George, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, ran on an unabashedly progressive platform. National commentators cast her strong showing as part of a broader year of gains for the left in Democratic primaries, drawing comparisons to insurgent campaigns elsewhere.
Under ranked-choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no contender clears 50% of first choices, lower-finishing candidates are eliminated and their votes redistributed. Lewis George's reported first-choice share above 50% suggested she could avoid later rounds, though officials cautioned that outstanding ballots could still affect the final count.
In the contest for the District's non-voting delegate to Congress, Robert White Jr. won the Democratic primary, according to results reported Wednesday. The delegate represents D.C.'s interests in the US House but cannot vote on final passage of legislation.
Turnout and the mechanics of the new voting system will be scrutinised once the count is complete, as supporters of ranked-choice voting point to the mayoral result as an early test of how the reform performs in a major city election.
City officials said they would continue tabulating and certify results in the days ahead, with both campaigns awaiting the final tallies before the race is formally settled.