- The June 4 Democratic primary in deep-blue Washington, D.C., will focus largely on crime and law enforcement, as crime spiked last year.
- The number of murders and car thefts may have decreased in 2024, but last year’s crime wave is influencing this year’s politics, with the left-wing and centrist wings of the Democratic Party facing off in several races.
- Voting has already taken place for five of the 13 seats on the DC Council. The most competitive election is the one in which 10 candidates are running to replace retiring Council Member Vincent Gray of Ward 7.
Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Washington, a heavily Democratic state, will focus largely on crime, policing and law enforcement — key issues for a city that saw a dramatic rise in violent crime last year.
Although Numbers for murder and car theft Despite the drop in 2024 so far, the political dynamics and tensions of last year’s crime trend will continue this year, with the left-wing and centrist wings of the Democratic Party facing off in several races.
Voting has already taken place for five of the 13 council seats, with the most contested being to replace retiring Ward 7 Council Member Vincent Gray. Gray, a former Washington mayor, served on the council for 13 years in two separate terms. A total of 10 candidates are vying to succeed him: Wendell Felder, Nate Fleming, Ebbon Allen, Calvin Brown, Roscoe Grant, Ebony-Rose Thompson, Villarreal “VJ” Johnson, Ebony Penn, Veda Rashid and Dennis Reed.
DC police officer shot while on duty; 2 suspects taken into custody in Maryland
Though no clear candidate has yet emerged, Gray has endorsed Felder, a longtime local political figure and city government official.
Gray, who was then D.C. Council president, was elected mayor in 2011. But he served only one term before losing to current Mayor Muriel Bowser in the 2015 Democratic primary. After his defeat, Gray returned to his old Ward 7 council seat in 2016, representing one of the poorest and blackest wards in a fast-growing capital city.
Gray, 81, has struggled with declining health for several years and has dismissed speculation that he is no longer physically able to perform his council duties. His office announced last month that Gray had suffered a second stroke.
An early voting site sign is posted at the Stead Park Recreation Center in northwest Washington, DC, on May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Robert Yun)
The primaries are largely viewed as the de facto election in a city where the Democratic Party dominates political life. However, losing primary candidates have routinely reclassified as independents to take another chance in the November general election.
In other elections, Ward 4 Councilwoman Genece Louise George, a pillar of the council’s left wing, is running for a second term against two opponents: Lisa Gore and Paul Johnson. Both have criticized George’s politics. soft approach to crime,
Two of Bowser’s most recent mayoral challengers — Ward 7 Council Member Trayon White and At-Large Council Member Robert White (no relation) — are hoping to retain their seats. Trayon White is being challenged by former high school principal Rahman Branch and Salim Adofo, a representative on D.C.’s neighborhood-level advisory neighborhood commissions. Robert White is being challenged by comedian and community activist Rodney “Red” Grant, a frequent candidate for several elected positions.
Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto is running unopposed.
Two other D.C. Council members whose seats are not up for election this year — Charles Allen of Ward 6 and Brianne Nadeau of Ward 1 — are facing recall campaigns aimed at gathering enough signatures to force a special election. In both cases, the main criticism of the council members centers around their criminal justice policies.
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Bowser, a former council member currently running for a third mayoral term, typically does not publicly engage in council races and has not endorsed any candidates. One notable exception came in 2018 when he openly supported a failed effort to oust then-at-large council member Elissa Silverman.
Bowser has often competed against it DC Council On public safety issues, it was alleged that overly progressive policies have boosted violent crime rates in 2023 and damaged police morale.
These differences came to a head last year when Bower vetoed a sweeping rewrite of the criminal code, objecting to a reduction in maximum sentencing guidelines for several crimes. The council quickly overrode her veto but the new criminal code was later overturned by the U.S. Congress — with many Democratic members citing Bower’s opposition as evidence that the council had strayed from mainstream Democratic policies.
