DC mayor – The Washington, D.C., mayoral primary was still being counted Wednesday morning, June 17, with the race not yet called and Muriel Bowser set to leave after three terms. Janeese Lewis George led early with 52.8% as of 7:00 a.m. ET, followed by Kenyan McDuffie a
For the third morning in a row, Washington’s mayoral contest was still in motion—results not yet called as votes continued to be counted on Wednesday, June 17.
At 7:40 a.m. ET, the D.C. mayor race had not been decided. The nation’s capital is choosing a new mayor as Muriel Bowser prepares to leave her position after serving three terms. The winner will inherit a city at a tense moment: President Donald Trump is expected to reshape parts of Washington. including altering the facade of the city and installing the National Guard to patrol the streets.
This is also a first for D.C. voters. The city is using ranked choice voting, letting voters rank up to five candidates. The ballot featured a crowded field of Democrats and no Republicans in the running.
By 7:00 a.m. ET Wednesday, Janeese Lewis George—an age 38 city council member with a left-leaning agenda—held the early lead with 52.8% of votes. Kenyan McDuffie was in second with 36.6% of votes, with an estimated 64% of votes counted.
Lewis George’s campaign has already drawn sharp comparisons. Supporters and critics alike have compared her effort to last year’s elections of other democratic socialists, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
As the count continued, the central question for voters was no longer just who would lead early. D.C.’s new ranked choice voting rules mean the final outcome depends on how supporters rank their choices up and down the ballot—an added layer of uncertainty as the city looks toward a transition in the mayor’s office and faces the next phase of Trump’s plans for Washington.
The race, however, remained unsettled at the time the count was underway Wednesday morning, with the mayor’s office—after three terms held by Bowser—still up for grabs.
Washington DC mayoral primary Janeese Lewis George Kenyan McDuffie Muriel Bowser ranked choice voting Associated Press CNN National Guard patrols Trump plans for Washington