On March 9th, the DC Board of Elections confirmed the candidates running in each party's primary. Listed below are the certified candidates. Incumbents are marked with an asterisk (*). Candidates can still have their ballot signatures challenged by opponents, and this list will be updated to display who survives any contestations.

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES

The vast majority of DC residents are Democrats, making the Democratic primaries the most meaningful battleground between political forces operating in DC. In the General Election, one at-large seat must go to a non-Democrat by DC law. One of the seats held by a non-Democrat is up for election this cycle.

At-large Member of the Council Democratic primary — two candidates

• Robert White *
• Rodney Red Grant

Robert White began his political career as a staffer for Eleanor Holmes Norton, pushing onto the DC Council in 2016 by nudging out right-populist Vincent Orange by just over 1,700 votes. Following victory, R. White has gone relatively unchallenged in subsequent elections, generally running in each cycle as a labor-friendly progressive. This cycle he is being challenged by Rodney Red Grant, a popular comedian who ran for Mayor in 2022 with populist undertones in the Mayoral General Election, although no deeper base was clearly identified in this prior run.

R. White also ran against Mayor Bowser back in 2022. White built a broad alliance with progressives and municipal workers which culminated in a narrow loss. R. White came within just nine percentage points of the Mayor. 

Ward 2 Democratic primary — one candidate

• Brooke Pinto *

This will be Brooke Pinto’s second run for the District Council. The private equity heiress has quiet connections to Donald Trump through her wealthy parents, although she also worked in the District Attorney's office prior to her run. Brooke Pinto is known to be an ally of the DC Police Union, a fake labor group known to peddle in hostile tactics meant to frighten and agitate residents during election and legislative cycles. Though generally loathed by the DC left for her aggresive and unscientific posture on policing issues, Pinto has avoided drawing significant challengers by placating (as opposed to representing) the deep left-wing constituencies active in the city.

Ward 4 Democratic primary — three candidates

• Janeese Lewis George (*) (DSA-backed)
• Lisa Gore
• Paul Johnson

Janeese Lewis George blazed on the DC Council in 2020 as the first public socialist to occupy a seat on the Council since 2000, when Hilda Mason stepped down from her two decades on the DC Council. By general votes of the membership, Janeese has been endorsed by the DSA during her original run in 2020, and again this year.

Janeese ousted ex-Republican Brandon Todd, a close ally of Mayor Bowser, by uniting the long-neglected working-class in the Ward with working families and newer residents. Since assuming office, Janeese has acted as a working-class anchor on the Council, actively challenging the neoliberal regime built by Mayor Bowser and crypto-Republicans in the decades that followed the reign of the Congress-appointed Financial Control Board.

Janeese is being challenged by two locals: Paul Johnson is a mild-mannered official with the Democratic Party; also running is Lisa Gore. Gore is running directly at Janeese, betraying the base that supporter her in 2022. Her prior platform as an at-large candidate echoed grassroots demands to defund the police and enact stronger oversight over Mayor Bowser’s regime. But this year Gore has abandoned these positions and tacked bizarrely to the right, attracting a cult of paranoiacs lusting to see greater police violence enacted on DC residents, and eager to see Janeese Lewis George punished for uniting and anchoring the District's left over the past four years.

Ward 7 Democratic primary — twelve candidates

• Ebbon A. Allen
• Kelvin E. Brown
• Dwight Sinclaire Deloatch J.R.
• Wendell Felder
• Yolanda “Y” Fields
• Nate Fleming
• Roscoe Grant, Jr.
• Villareal VJ Johnson II
• Ebony Payne
• Veda Rasheed
• Denise Reed
• Eboni-Rose Thompson

Previously held by ex-Mayor Vincent Gray, the Ward 7 race is the only one in the city moving without an incumbent – leaving the seat wide open. The prior occupant, Vincent Gray, was the Mayor of DC between 2011 and 2015, and has occupied this seat on the Council since 2017. Gray’s performance has waned in recent years, as health and staffing turnover seemed to sap his office of initiative and energy. The desire for renewed representation in Ward 7 is evident in the number of candidates running: the race will likely be a scrap to the finish.

Ward 8 Democratic primary — five candidates

• Trayon White *
• Salim Adofo
• Markus Batchelor
• Rahman Branch
• Kevin Cannaday

Trayon White is running for his third election to the DC Council. Born and raised in Ward 8, T. White endeared himself to his constituency for being off-the-cuff and flexible in his positioning. As a result, T. White has developed a reputation as a populist, generally supporting expansions of rent control and public services, though never challenging the deeper structural systems that keep many in the city trapped in poverty.

T. White's inconsistencies and consistent controversies have attracted a number of challengers. A redistricting of Ward 8 also changes the countors of the race: the Ward now includes a wealthy (and much loathed) section of Southeast called Navy Yard. The left-vote in the Ward is at risk of being split between tenant organizer Salim Adofo and progressive activist Markus Batchelor. Other contenders are ex-Ballou High principal Rahman Branch and youth organizer Kevin Cannaday.

Delegate to the US House of Representatives Democratic primary– two candidates

• Eleanor Holmes Norton *
• Kelly Mikel Williams

The Delegate acts as the representative to Congress. Although the position holds no formal voting power in the body, the office is responsible for defending the District’s interests and autonomy in the Congress. Eleanor Holmes Norton has been highly-lauded for her advocacy of DC Statehood and autonomy, and has occupied the seat since 1991.

President of the United States Democratic primary – four candidates (and an alternative..)

• Joe Biden *
• Marianne Williamson
• Dean Phillips
• Armando Perez-Serrato
• Other

Joe Biden is the likely victor of the Democratic Party primary. However, DC’s Democrats have the option of writing in their own candidate in the primary election. The national arm of the Democratic Socialists of America, in coordination with national partners, are supporting a campaign to vote for an alternative in the Democratic primaries with the purpose of demonstrating a message to Joe Biden: reelection is in peril if he does not shift course in his Administration’s support for Israel’s genocide. Options to make the same sort of "Uncommitted" splash is limited in DC — given that voters do not have a discrete box to tick their disapproval as they do up in Maryland. But many voters concerned about the genocide in Gaza are likely to decline lending their vote to Biden in DC.

Shadow Senator Democratic primary— five candidates

• Wendy Hamilton
• Andrew C. Haynes Worth
• Franklin Garcia
• Ankit Jain
• Eugene D. Kinlow

DC’s Shadow Senators are not officially sworn in or seated by the US Senate, but the office is responsible for building support for DC Statehood and local autonomy across the United States Senate. Incumbent Mike Brown, who has held the position since 2006, is stepping down, creating an opening for new representatives to chart a strategy for building support for DC Statehood in the Senate – the final vestige of federal power that is holding up DC statehood.

Shadow Representative Democratic primary — 2 candidates

• Linda L. Gray
• Oye Owolewa *

DC’s Shadow Representative is not officially sworn in or seated by the US Congress, but the office is responsible for building support for DC Statehood and local autonomy across the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Oye Owolewa has held the position since 2001, leaning into DC’s progressive and socialists to anchor his position over Democratic Party insiders.

OTHER PRIMARIES

DC Republicans:

• Myrtle Patricia Alexander (Delegate to the US House)
• Nate Derenge (Ward 8 Councilmember)
• Quinn K. Nii (Ward 8 Councilmember and US Shadow Senator)
• Ciprian Ivanof (US Shadow Rep)

Republicans held their own Presidential primary earlier in the year to conform with Republicans’ election schedule. Of 2,035 voters, Nikki Haley received 1,279 votes (62.9%), Donald Trump received 676 votes (33.2%), and other candidates received just under 4% of the remaining votes.

DC Statehood-Green Party

• Jill Stein (US President)
• Kymone Freeman (US House Rep)
• Darryl LC Moch ( At-Large Council rep)

The DC Statehood-Green Party has dwindled in power since their heyday in the 80s and 90s, when the Party operated solely as the DC Statehood Party. In recent years, the District’s Left has pursued an intentional strategy of maneuvering through the Democratic Party, rather than contesting for power through a third party. As this strategy matured, it has dwindled the pool of candidates, voters and general participation in the Statehood Party. This year, participation of Kymone Freeman, a co-founder of the popular radio station and TV studio We Act Radio, brings some novel potential to the Statehood ticket in DC.

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DC's primary election date is Tuesday, June 4th. US citizens can register or update their voter registration here.

US citizens and noncitizen residents can register to vote? Noncitizens can vote in the primary for local elections only, and can register with the Board of Elections using this link.