Washington elects Janeese Lewis George as mayor, the capital's first democratic socialist mayor, to take office January 2

Washington, D.C. voters on November 3 elected Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George as the District's next mayor. The Associated Press and NBC News projected her win on election night; with about 72 percent of votes counted, she held about 84 percent of the vote, far ahead of independent Rhonda Hamilton (about 10 percent) and D.C. Statehood Green candidate Robert L. Gross (about 3.5 percent). (Cover photo is a file photo of the U.S. Capitol, not election night.)

A string of firsts: first democratic socialist mayor, first open race in 20 years

Lewis George, 38, is a Ward 4 councilmember, a third-generation Washingtonian and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She will become the nation's capital's first democratic socialist mayor and its first new mayor since 2015. The election was the first Washington mayoral contest in 20 years without an incumbent on the ballot, as three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser decided not to seek a fourth term; it was also the first mayoral race in the city decided under ranked-choice voting, which residents approved in a 2024 ballot measure. She is set to be sworn in on January 2.

What awaits her: a tight budget, National Guard troops and home rule

Lewis George takes office facing a tighter budget. Another thorny issue is the federal deployment: more than 2,900 National Guard troops sent to Washington's streets in August 2025 remain in the city, with current plans keeping them deployed until January 2029, while a federal appeals panel weighs whether the deployment is legal. During the campaign, President Donald Trump threatened to revoke D.C.'s home rule status and run the District directly if Lewis George won. Lewis George told the Washington Post she has already had several productive meetings with Bowser, and the transition is under way.