D.C. is electing a new mayor for the first time in more than a decade, marking a new era at a critical juncture.
The nation’s capital could join major cities like New York and Seattle in electing a democratic socialist as mayor for the first time. D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), is widely expected to win in the deep-blue city — a victory that would fuel momentum for the socialist movement as its candidates, including Lewis George, seize on affordability issues.
But unlike in places like Seattle and New York, D.C.’s city hall is blocks from the White House. Lewis George has promised a more aggressive stance toward President Donald Trump, potentially setting up an unpredictable clash in a city uniquely vulnerable to federal intervention.
Lewis George is running against independent candidate Rhonda Hamilton and Statehood Green Party candidate Robert L. Gross.
What’s at stake
With D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), a centrist, opting not to seek a fourth term, the mayoral contest this year largely functioned as a battle over the direction of the city.
Lewis George campaigned on centering the needs of workers and tenants amid an affordability crunch and made sweeping promises, such as universal affordable child care and the production of 72,000 new housing units.
But Lewis George would be taking office at a time of strained city finances and economic woes driven by federal jobs cuts, raising questions about how she will fund an ambitious agenda and attract investment. She has floated a new business tax to fund child care investments.
Lewis George will also have to contend with multiple investigations launched by the Trump administration into conditions at the D.C. jail and the government’s handling of youth issues such as truancy and juvenile crime — likely posing early tests for how she handles the federal relationship.
She has said a “day one” priority is to resist Trump’s deportation agenda by severing any coordination between D.C. police and federal immigration authorities.
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