(Photo by Phil Roeder)
The question wasn’t really ever who (or what) would win in D.C.’s local elections, but by exactly how much. And the results are in.
With all precincts reporting, just under 80 percent of the population voted in favor of statehood. While there have been concerns about the convention process and possible constitutional issues, among other reasons for voting against it—and nearly 13 percent of voters did—the idea remains hugely popular with residents. Getting it enacted, of course, faces very different prospects.
In the night’s only true question, besides ANC races, Ashley Carter is currently winning the At-large State Board of Education race, coming in at 32 percent of the vote to 29 percent for incumbent Mary Lord and 16 percent for college student Tony Donaldson Jr. Carter is ahead of the nine-year veteran of the board despite a nasty bit of name-calling; Carter, or someone with access to her account on a local forum, accused Lord of having a “turkey neck” and dressing “like a homeless lady.”
In the nail-biting general election, Hillary Clinton won D.C.’s three electoral votes with 90 percent of the vote. Donald Trump managed to eke out almost 4 percent, while Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein each came in under 2 percent.
On the D.C. Council, the real upheaval came in June’s Democratic primary, when three incumbents and Bowser allies lost their seats (and a fourth came surprisingly close). Trayon White beat out LaRuby May for the Democratic nomination in Ward 8 and former Mayor Vincent Gray made a comeback in Ward 7 against his former protege Yvette Alexander. White and Gray cruised to easy victories tonight, with 93 and 84 percent of the vote respectively.
Democrat Robert White also unexpectedly defeated Vincent Orange in the three-way At-large race, and he’s currently serving out the remainder of Orange’s term after a conflict-of-interest debacle. He ended the night at the top of the At-large race with 38 percent of the board.
As usual, with a notable exception in 2012, there was also little challenge to the incumbent At-large councilmember in a seat reserved for a non-Democrat. With 18 percent, David Grosso handily defeated competitors from the Libertarian, Republican, and Statehood Green parties and an Independent (none of whom crossed 5 percent).
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton will serve another term with 85 percent, in a race against Libertarian Martin Moulton and perpetual candidate Natale (Lino) Stracuzzi. Jack Evans ran unopposed in Ward 2, as did Brandon Todd in Ward 4 and Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia.
Despite the lack of drama, D.C. residents still turned out to vote early in record numbers, finishing on Friday with 101,077 ballots cast, more than double the figure in 2012.
In total, 287,403 people voted—or 60 percent of registered voters, roughly the same as the 2012 presidential election.
Meanwhile in Maryland, Chris Van Hollen handily won (as expected) the U.S. Senate race to replace Barbara Mikulski. And Florida’s John Mica—who has been known to try to meddle in D.C. law (not to mention accusing President Barack Obama of being high for supporting statehood)—lost his seat to a Democratic challenger.
This post has been updated.
Rachel Sadon