In the last Democratic primary of the political season, D.C. voters on Tuesday will decide the futures of several city lawmakers — as well as Mayor Muriel Bowser’s influence on the D.C. Council.
About 75 percent of the nearly 450,000 registered voters in the District are Democrats, meaning the winners of the primary races will likely sail to victory in November’s general election.
Council member Jack Evans faces no opposition in his Ward 2 re-election bid, but the other races are much more competitive.
In Ward 7, council member Yvette Alexander is facing what could be an insurmountable challenge against former mayor Vincent C. Gray, who is launching a political comeback for his old legislative seat after federal authorities decided against charging him in a yearslong investigation of a $660,000 “slush fund” that helped finance operations in his 2010 mayoral campaign. A dozen Gray associates were convicted amid the probe.
Ms. Alexander joined the council in 2007 after Mr. Gray had vacated the seat to become council chairman. The pair enjoyed a close working relationship until Mr. Gray came under investigation just before the 2014 mayoral primary, which he lost Ms. Bowser.
Since then, Ms. Alexander has been a consistent vote for the Bowser administration, along with several other lawmakers facing challenges this cycle.
The Gray campaign has released two polling figures on the Ward 7 race, both showing the former mayor with a commanding lead over the incumbent council member. In the poll released May 19, Mr. Gray led Ms. Alexander by 31 percentage points, 53 percent to 22 percent. Delmar Chesley and Grant Thompson had 3 percent each, with about 18 percent of voters undecided.
Though she has not released any polling results, Ms. Alexander confirmed that she did internal polling early on, and it showed a close race between her and Mr. Gray. She said she never releases internal polls.
Despite the cloud over Mr. Gray in the wake of the federal probe, he still enjoys broad support in Ward 7, and many see it as a homecoming. He’s touting an ability to reduce violent crime in a ward that has seen its homicide rate triple this year compared to last year. When Mr. Gray was mayor, homicides fell from 132 in 2010 to 105 in 2014.
Ms. Alexander is pushing a platform of economic opportunity. She said that despite Wal-Mart pulling out of two major developments in the ward in January, there are plenty of other retailers willing to build and create jobs east of the Anacostia River.
She said she has been in talks with the Regal Cinemas movie theater chain, which often partners with the TJX group, an owner of discount stores T.J.Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls, with regard to filling space at the Skyland shopping center. For Capitol Gateway, Ms. Alexander said Kohl’s department store, AMC movie theaters and Harris Teeter supermarkets are all interested in taking the space.
The race also has implications for Ms. Bowser, who enjoys a reliable vote on the council with Ms. Alexander. Should he win, Mr. Gray would be more of an antagonist to the first-term mayor.
Ward 8 sets up another race that could spell less influence for Ms. Bowser. Council member LaRuby May, who often votes for Bowser-backed initiatives, is in a slugfest with activist Trayon White, whom she beat by only 79 votes in the special election to fill the seat left vacant by Marion Barry when he died in 2014.
In a straw poll of 200 Ward 8 voters last month, Mr. White trounced Ms. May, who didn’t show up to the event, with 135 votes to the incumbent’s 50 votes. The race includes long shot candidates Aaron Holmes, Maurice T. Dickens and Bonita Goode.
Mr. White has been backed by many of the former candidates he ran against last year, including Barry’s son, Christopher, as well as Stuart Anderson and Jauhar Abraham.
In Ward 4, another Bowser-allied incumbent faces a serious challenge: Council member Brandon Todd is hearing the footsteps of Leon Andrews behind him. Mr. Andrews finished third in the special election that Mr. Todd won last year to fill Ms. Bowser’s council seat, which she vacated when she became mayor. Ron Austin and Calvin H. Gurley also are running for the seat.
Much like Mr. White, Mr. Andrews has managed to garner the support of many of the former candidates he ran against in the special election, but unlike Mr. White, he doesn’t have a lot of name recognition. Mr. Andrews also faces a much more efficient funding machine that’s propelling Mr. Todd.
For the only at-large council seat on the ballot, incumbent Vincent Orange is facing off against two very vocal and visible candidates in Robert White and David Garber. Though Mr. Orange isn’t a consistent vote for Ms. Bowser — he voted in favor of private marijuana clubs — he often supports initiatives backed by the mayor.
Mr. Orange has garnered most of the major endorsements, including that of Ms. Bowser. Mr. White, who formerly ran community outreach for D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, acquired the rest. Mr. Garber, a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, has had trouble gaining traction but has been a vocal foil of both Mr. Orange and Mr. White.
Mr. White is running as the “clean” candidate, positioning himself as the white knight fighting Mr. Orange, who he says is plagued by corruption and ethics scandals.
But Mr. Orange could get a boost from east-of-the-Anacostia wards, where he enjoys a lot of support. Wards 7 and 8 feature tight races, so turnout could be higher there as well.
• Ryan M. McDermott can be reached at rmcdermott@washingtontimes.com.
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