Janeese Lewis George didn’t just win last week’s Democratic primary for D.C. mayor. She won big, trouncing her opponents in nearly every neighborhood and with the kind of numbers the District hasn’t seen in over a decade.
The democratic socialist poised to become D.C.’s next mayor faced six opponents, only one of whom was considered a credible contender. Votes are still being counted but, as of Thursday, she commanded just over 54 percent of the vote – nearly 20 points ahead of Kenyan McDuffie in second place. While City Cast DC and The Washington Post polls published in the run up to the election projected her to win, neither anticipated the commanding margin. And questions swirled on if she or the other candidates could energize voters to head to the polls – early voting figures led to speculation that the election would suffer from low voter turnout.
But, as Lewis George began her speech at The Howard Theatre on election night: “If there was ever any doubt, let it now be laid to rest.”
Here’s a deep dive into the numbers behind her victory based on preliminary data from the D.C. Board of Elections:
More than 150,000 people voted in this election and counting – the most votes cast in any primary election since 1982, possibly in D.C. history. Part of that may be because D.C.’s population has grown dramatically over the past two decades. But even after accounting for population growth, this year’s voter turnout fares impressively. As of Thursday, this election had the highest share of participation from registered Democrats in a D.C. mayoral primary since the polarizing slugfest between Adrian Fenty and Vincent Gray in 2010.
Voter turnout increased in all eight wards compared to the past three mayoral primary elections.
Lewis George’s margin of victory of 19 percentage points is in line with the performance of past mayoral candidates in races without incumbents. She earned slightly less than Andrian Fenty, who in 2006 won by 26.2 points, and slightly more than Anthony Williams, who in 1998 won by 15 points.
Lewis George won seven of D.C.’s eight wards by a large margin, only slightly trailing in Ward 3 – the city’s whitest and wealthiest ward. She performed dramatically best in Ward 1, a liberal enclave even with deeply-blue D.C. that contains Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant and the U Street Corridor. It’s a common area for D.C. newscomers to live and is also the epicenter of the city’s Latino population.
Lewis George prevailed in more than 80 percent of D.C.’s 144 voting precincts.
This story is based on preliminary results as of (LAST TIME ALYSSA RUNS THE GRAPHS HERE). The D.C. Board of Elections anticipates releasing the final results on July 2.
