Follow 海角精品黑料鈥檚 team coverage of the D.C. primary and Election 2026 online, on air at 103.5 FM or on the 海角精品黑料 News app. See live results as they come in after polls close at 8 p.m.
The 2026 election cycle is bringing seismic changes to D.C. government 鈥� and not just because it includes rare openings for mayor and delegate to Congress. The ripple effect on the D.C. Council is a big one.
The departure of Mayor Muriel Bowser and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton triggered four council members to pursue those positions. Two additional members, At-Large Council member Anita Bonds and Ward 1’s Brianne Nadeau, announced they would not seek reelection for reasons other than seeking a higher office.
All that means there will be at least two new faces on the council come January, and more newcomers once the dust settles in the races for mayor and delegate.
Voters picked their party’s nominee in several council races Tuesday, and the winners of the Democratic primaries are all but guaranteed to win the seat, since nearly 75% of registered voters in the District are Democrats,聽.
Newcomers in Ward 1, at-large seats
A crowded field of nine Democratic candidates vied to fill Bonds’ at-large seat, including Kevin B. Chavous, Bonds’ committee and policy director, whom she endorsed.
The field also included labor leader Dyana Forester, who’s currently serving as senior director of labor relations for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore; Fred Hill, founder of the Hill Group and former chair of D.C.’s Board of Zoning Adjustment; Greg Jackson, president of the Rocket Foundation and adviser to the Community Justice Action Fund; Leniqua’dominique Jenkins, former advisory neighborhood commissioner, educator and council staffer; Candace Tiana Nelson, former chief of staff to Council member Janeese Lewis George; Oye Owolewa, D.C.’s U.S. shadow representative; Dwight Davis, former educator, principal and minister; and Lisa Raymond, former president of the D.C. State Board of Education and former chief of staff for then-D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine.
Five Democratic candidates were in the running to succeed Nadeau in the Ward 1 seat. Nadeau endorsed Rashida Brown, a social worker and 10-year ANC commissioner.
Also in the field were Jackie Reyes Yanes, former director of the Mayor鈥檚 Office on Latino Affairs and former director of the Mayor鈥檚 Office on Community Affairs; Terry Lynch, longtime executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations; Aparna Raj, organizer communications manager at Local Progress; and Miguel Trindade Deramo, organizer and chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B.
Special election for remainder of McDuffie’s term
Kenyan McDuffie had to vacate his at-large seat on the council to launch his campaign for mayor as a Democrat, since he was elected to the D.C. Council as an independent under rules requiring some nonmajority-party council members.
Doni Crawford was appointed in January to fill his seat until this election, and she ran against two others to finish the term.
Before her appointment, Crawford was the director for the D.C. Council鈥檚 Committee on Business and Economic Development. Running against her were Jacque Patterson, president of the D.C. State Board of Education, and Elissa Silverman, former at-large D.C. Council member.
Another election will be held in November to determine who will hold the seat for its next full term, which begins in 2027.
Incumbents challenged in Wards 5 and 6
Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker and Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen both faced a pair of Democratic challengers.
In Ward 5, Parker faced Bernita Carmichael, a small business owner, D.C. Democratic Party committeewoman and member of the Ward 5 Leadership Council, along with Bridget French, who works on clean energy policy.
Ward 6’s Charles Allen faced challenges from attorney Michael Murphy and Gloria Ann Nauden, interim CEO of Philanthropy DMV and leader of D.C. Community Development Consortium Institute.
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