The District’s Democratic primary is on June 21, 2022, and the general election is on Nov. 8, 2022. Better start getting ready now.

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Like the periodic invasion of cicadas, the blooming of the cherry blossoms, and dashed hopes that a certain football team will eventually do better, a predictable cycle in D.C. is upon us: elections.

Next year is a big one for the city, as voters will be asked to elect not just six new members of the D.C. Council, but also a mayor, council chairman, and attorney general. Also on the ballot will be D.C.’s delegate to Congress, members of the shadow delegation, members of the State Board of Education, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners.

The Democratic primary — which in many cases serves as the de facto election, given the overwhelming Democratic majority among D.C. voters — is on June 21, 2022, and the general election is on Nov. 8, 2022.

Candidates are already jumping into the various races, and to help you keep track of them all, we’ll be periodically updating this post with basic information on the contenders, the offices they’re aiming to fill, and whether they are taking part in the city’s public financing program. Not all of these candidates will make it to the actual elections; each office requires candidates to submit a different number of signatures to actually appear on the ballot, and some contenders fail to do so.

Mayor

The race for D.C.’s top elected office promises to be more competitive than it was in 2018, when Mayor Muriel Bowser cruised to a second term after facing only nominal opposition. And the election comes at a challenging time for D.C.: while the city’s finances have largely recovered after taking a COVID-fueled dip, the pandemic’s impact on existing social and economic divides has been severe. There’s also been a multi-year increase in homicides, and a downtown that could continue struggling if workers don’t return to offices. Bowser is expected to run for a third term, but hasn’t yet made any formal announcements, leaving the race — especially the Democratic primary — wide open.

Current Democratic candidates

Current independent or non-Democratic candidates

  • Rodney “Red” Grant: Comedian and community activist running as an independent.
  • Corren Brown: Running as a member of the Statehood Green Party.
  • Barbara Summers: Running as an independent.

D.C. attorney general

The race for attorney general may generally be less heated and contested than other citywide contests, but it’s no less significant — especially when you consider that before 2014, D.C. residents didn’t even get to elect an attorney general. The office has limited authority when it comes to prosecuting violent crime (that’s largely left to the U.S. Attorney for D.C.), but it does handle everything from consumer protection to prosecuting slumlords. Attorney General Karl Racine recently announced his second term will be his last, opening the seat to a new contender.

Current Democratic candidates

D.C. Council chairman

The council chair is the legislative body’s boss of sorts, wielding significant power in creating committees and assigning chairmanships to other lawmakers. The chair also plays a key role in reworking the annual budget submitted by the mayor. Mendelson, who first joined the council in 1998, has served as chair since 2012, when his colleagues selected him during an ethics crisis that led to a former chairman’s resignation. Mendelson was re-elected in 2014 and 2018, when he faced a challenge from the left.

Current Democratic candidates

At-Large

There are two at-large seats up for grabs in the 2022 election cycle, but there’s a quirk. One of the seats — currently held by Elissa Silverman — is set aside for candidates from the non-majority party, so anyone but a registered Democrat can run. That being the case, there is no June primary for that seat. The other seat — now occupied by Anita Bonds, a Democrat — will be included in the June primary. Come Nov. 2022, voters will have two choices for the seats. They can vote for the Democrat if they want to, but they don’t have to; two independents or members of other political parties could fill those seats.

Current Democratic candidates

  • Anita Bonds: The two-term incumbent will be taking public financing.
  • Nate Bennett Fleming: D.C.’s former shadow representative and a legislative staffer to Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White will be taking public financing.
  • Leniqua’dominique Jenkins: She is taking public financing.
  • Sharece Crawford: The At-Large committeewoman for the D.C. Democratic Party will be taking public financing.
  • Dexter Williams: The retired DCPS teacher and Ward 7 committeeman for the D.C. Democratic Party will be taking public financing.
  • Bradley Thomas: The Ward 5 ANC commissioner will be taking public financing.
  • Lisa Gore: The ANC commissioner in Chevy Chase will be taking public financing.

Current independent or non-Democratic candidates

  • Elissa Silverman: Two-term incumbent.
  • Frederick Hill: Businessman who unsuccessfully challenged Councilmember Trayon White in 2020. Will not be taking public financing.
  • Giuseppe Urberto Niosi: The Republican will be taking public financing.

Ward 1

It may be the smallest ward in terms of geographic size, but Ward 1, which includes the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights, among others, packs the most people and significant diversity into that small mass of land. The ward deals with its own range of challenges, from significant development (and concerns about gentrification) to persistent pockets of violent crime.

Current Democratic candidates

  • Brianne Nadeau: The two-term incumbent is running for a third term; she’s taking public financing.
  • Sabel Harris: The ANC commissioner will be taking public financing.

Ward 3

The city’s wealthiest and whitest ward is also among the most politically engaged: three-quarters of registered voters cast ballots in the 2020 general election.

Current Democratic candidates

  • Mary Cheh: First elected in 2006, Cheh is the council’s second longest-serving member. (Mendelson takes that title.) She is taking public financing.

Current Republican candidates

  • David Krucoff: The realtor and former candidate for D.C. delegate to Congress is participating in the public financing program.

Ward 5

Encompassing suburban-like residential neighborhoods like Woodbridge and North Michigan Park to gentrifying areas like Eckington and Trinidad, Ward 5 has a little bit of everything — and a very engaged (and sometimes combative) political culture. That’s likely to be reflected in the 2022 election cycle, where incumbent Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is not expected to run for re-election.

Current Democratic candidates

  • Zachary Parker: The current president of the D.C. State Board of Education is taking public financing.
  • Faith Gibson Hubbard: Former official in Bowser’s administration, also a former chief student advocate. Also taking public financing.
  • Gordon Fletcher: The ANC commissioner and chairman of the Ward 5 Democrats is also accepting public financing.
  • Vincent Orange: Former at-large councilmember and former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. Also taking public financing.
  • Harry Thomas Jr.: The former councilmember is running for his old seat: Axios reported on Nov. 8 that he would be filing campaign papers this week. Thomas vacated the position in 2012, after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than $350,000 in District funds. He was sentenced to 38 months in prison.

Ward 6

The ward stretches from parts of Shaw to Capitol Hill and down to Navy Yard. It’s diverse, politically engaged, and has seen some of the city’s fastest growth and development over the last decade.

Current Democratic candidates

  • Charles Allen: He served as a staffer to the last Ward 6 councilmember before being elected to the office himself in 2014.
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