Christina Henderson, a former staffer for Councilmember David Grosso, has declared victory in the crowded race to win one of two open At-Large seats on the D.C. Council.

“We did it!”, she wrote in an email on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the D.C. Board of Elections released a new batch of results showing her lead over Vincent Orange growing to almost 13,000 votes. “I have dedicated my life to public service. I am so happy for this opportunity to serve the city I love on the D.C. Council.”

Orange conceded the race to Henderson shortly after, writing on Twitter that she “ran a very good, clean and steady campaign” and that he “wished her all the best.” Two of Henderson’s other competitors — Marcus Goodwin and Ed Lazere, currently in third and fourth place, respectively — also conceded the race to her.

As expected, incumbent Councilmember Robert White, a Democrat, has won the other At-Large seat. With Henderson’s ascension to the council, the city’s legislature will now be majority female for the first time since the late 1990s.

Voters also overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that would de-prioritize the enforcement of D.C. drug laws against magic mushrooms and psychedelic plants.

Election Day turnout in the District was light, with very few lines reported, and few reports of irregularities.

To make voting easier during the pandemic, D.C. Board of Elections pledged to send a ballot to every registered District voter, and placed 55 drop boxes across the city. The city also converted some large buildings — like sports arenas, stadiums, and hotels — into voting “supercenters” to allow for social distancing at polling centers, including for a week of early voting. As of Nov. 2, more than 282,700 votes had already been cast by mail-in ballot, drop boxes, or early voting, equaling roughly 90% of the city’s total turnout in 2016.

The District’s population largely votes Democratic, meaning that the primaries often feature more tightly-contested local races than the general election. On Election Day, the crowded contest for one of the At-Large seats was easily the most uncertain.

There were two citywide seats on the ballot. One was all but a lock for the White, the Democratic nominee, but the second was required to go to the non-majority party on the D.C. Council (in other words, a non-Democrat). Henderson and Orange were considered frontrunners for that seat, which is being vacated by Grosso, along with Goodwin and Lazere.

Henderson previously served as a D.C. Council staffer for Grosso, whose endorsement she secured early on. She describes herself a “pragmatic progressive,” and one of her top priorities is to increase access and lower prices of child care. She supports increasing taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents and reversing changes to the estate tax to blunt the economic fallout from the pandemic, but stops short of endorsing business and property tax hikes. She earned a key endorsement from the Washington Post, along with Goodwin.

The seat is likely to be a key vote in determining the ideological make-up of the entire legislative body, which has been divided between progressive and centrist factions.

The other open council races have played out as expected.

In Ward 2, Councilmember Brooke Pinto coasted to victory, with nearly 70% of the reported vote. Her closest competitor, Randy Downs, conceded to Pinto in an email on Wednesday. He took about 20% of the vote. Pinto won the Democratic primary in early June, and the special election two weeks later to serve the rest of resigned Councilmember Jack Evans’ term. Mere months into her new role, she faced some competition from independent candidates who were critical about her finances and local expertise, but they have come up far short thus far.

In Ward 4, Janeese Lewis George easily defeated Statehood Green Party candidate Perry Reed. She unseated incumbent Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd in the June primaries, removing a stalwart ally of both Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chairman Phil Mendelson from the dais.

In Ward 8, Councilmember Trayon White, Sr. overwhelmingly bested independent candidates Fred Hill and Christopher Cole.

And Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray ran uncontested.

Initiative 81, which would make the enforcement of D.C. drug laws against magic mushrooms and psychedelic plants the lowest priority for the Metropolitan Police Department, has thus far been approved by a three-to-one margin.

Colleen Grablick contributed reporting. This post has been updated to note that Christina Henderson and Brooke Pinto definitively won their seats.