More than a dozen seats are up for grabs on the Nov. 3 ballot in D.C. as voters select the city’s first new mayor in more than a decade, among other races.
Because D.C. is a heavily blue city, Democrats are widely favored to win in key races such as mayor and House delegate. Other races on the ballot include some state board of education seats and the shadow U.S. senator and U.S. representative. Meanwhile, voters also will consider a ballot initiative on whether to ban restaurants from serving foie gras.
Here is a look at what is on the fall ballot:
Who are the candidates running for D.C. mayor?
Democrat Janeese Lewis George, who has represented Ward 4 on the D.C. Council since 2021, is the favorite to win the race to succeed Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and become the first democratic socialist to serve in the city’s top elected office. Bowser is stepping down after declining to seek a fourth term as mayor.
Also running for mayor are independent Rhonda Hamilton and Robert L. Gross of the D.C. Statehood Green Party.
Who are the candidates running for D.C. Council?
Two at-large D.C. Council seats are on the ballot, along with several other council races.
In the at-large contest, the two candidates with the most votes win. Independent Elissa Silverman, who won a special election in June to fill the seat vacated by Kenyan R. McDuffie ahead of his unsuccessful mayoral run, is now vying for a full four-year term on the council. Also running in the at-large race are Oye Owolewa, a pharmacist and shadow U.S. representative who won the Democratic primary for a seat, as well as Republican Darrell Green and Darryl Moch of the D.C. Statehood Green Party.
Several other seats on the D.C. Council are up for grabs. Longtime council chairman Phil Mendelson is seeking another term in the role, running against Republican Abi-Ananiah Prudent.
Meanwhile, four candidates are competing for the Ward 1 seat representing neighborhoods in Northwest Washington, including Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. Running are Democrat Aparna Raj; Republican Jett James Jasper; independent Ryan Prince and Jude Crannitch of the Statehood Green Party.
Zachary Parker (D) is seeking a second term representing Ward 5, which includes much of Northeast Washington. He faces Republican Jeffrey Kihien-Palza and Joyce Robinson-Paul of the Statehood Green Party.
In Ward 6, three-term incumbent Charles Allen (D) is facing Republican challenger Jorge Rice.
Council member Matthew Frumin is running unopposed in Ward 3.
Who is running for House delegate?
Robert C. White Jr., a three-term at-large member of the D.C. Council, overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary to succeed Eleanor Holmes Norton as the District’s nonvoting representative in Congress. A former Norton aide, White faces Republican Denise Rosado and Kymone Freeman of the DC Statehood Green Party in the general election.
If White wins, the local Democratic Party would appoint someone to temporarily serve in his council seat until a special election is held. That person would serve until early 2029, when White’s term was set to end.
Who is running for attorney general?
Incumbent Brian L. Schwalb (D) is seeking a second term as the city’s chief legal officer in a race against Republican Manuel Rivera. The attorney general is responsible for enforcing the laws of the District, providing legal advice for government agencies and promoting other interests of city residents.
A debate over foie gras
Voters will also decide whether the District should ban the production and sale of force-fed duck and goose liver, or foie gras, in the city.
Organizers behind the ballot initiative — officially called the Prohibiting Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026 — say the process used to create foie gras is cruel to the animals. Supporters of the dish dispute that claim.
How does ranked-choice voting work?
The June primaries were the first to allow voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference for races on the ballot.
The ranked-choice method will appear on the fall ballot again for certain contests — mayor, the at-large D.C. Council seats and House delegate, among others — where there are three or more candidates.
A candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the vote to win. If a candidate does not reach that threshold after first-choice votes are tallied, the person receiving the fewest votes is eliminated, and anyone who ranked that candidate first will have their vote transferred to their second choice. The process will continue until a candidate is declared a winner.
In the at-large D.C. Council race, the D.C. Board of Elections said voters will be able to rank all the candidates as they would in other contests instead of selecting just two candidates as in the past. “We will continue rounds of tabulation until only two candidates remain,” the elections board said.
How do I vote?
All registered D.C. voters should have received a ballot in the mail, which can be mailed back, placed in ballot drop boxes or returned to voting centers. Ballots sent through the U.S. Postal Service must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 13 to be counted.
D.C. offers same-day registration at early-voting centers or on Election Day, allowing people to show proof of residence and be issued a ballot.
Early-voting centers will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1 at about two dozen sites across the District.
On Nov. 3, voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can cast ballots at any of those sites.
Here is a map of all the drop boxes and voting centers.
The post A guide to the 2026 D.C. general election: What to know before you vote appeared first on Washington Post.
