Washington, D.C.‘s 2026 election cycle will feature ranked choice voting and fresh faces, with longtime politicians opting out of reelection. Alaska and Maine are the only states that use ranked choice voting, which allows voters to choose candidates in order of preference. If a candidate doesn’t receive a majority of first-choice votes, the votes are then reallocated in rounds until a candidate seals a majority. Washington, D.C., passed a ballot measure that adopted ranked choice voting in 2024.A poll from last week placed democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George 11 percentage points ahead of the more centrist Kenyan McDuffie in the race to replace current Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is not running for a fourth term.
With just days remaining before the June 16 Democratic primary election, it seems likely the Ward 4 councilwoman will cinch the mayoral position despite opposition to teenage curfews, which 71% of registered voters support and just 20% oppose.
McDuffie made attack ads against Lewis George’s curfew position a central part of his campaign, while President Donald Trump threatened to take back Washington and run the city on a federal level if Lewis George wins. Lewis George’s policies have been compared to those of New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
