The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, or RAMW, has been a staunch supporter of current Mayor Muriel Bowser throughout her tenure. Their backing of McDuffie, an ally of Bowser’s, continues the business group’s support for more centrist-leaning candidates, bucking Lewis George’s more leftist campaign, often compared to that of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Kenyan McDuffie emphasizes a results-oriented approach to governance, improving public safety, focusing on supporting small businesses, modernizing city government, and strengthening neighborhood commercial corridors,” RAMW said in a statement on the endorsement.
The group represents more than 1,500 restaurants in D.C., Northern Virginia, and the Maryland suburbs of the district. In Washington, D.C.’s vibrant food scene, the restaurant industry means a lot for local businesses and the local economy. RAMW has a Foodservice Political Action Committee and is active in local immigration policy advocacy.
The restaurant group said they were backing McDuffie due to his proposed policies of streamlining permitting and licensing processes into a single digital portal, creating an AI tool system to help local businesses open more quickly and creating a fund for small business rent support for those at risk of eviction. The statement did not mention Lewis George.
