D.C.

How Worried Should We Be About a Socialist Mayor in D.C.?

In Tuesday's Democratic primary, voters overwhelmingly voted for Janeese Lewis George, a socialist who's promised to resist Donald Trump.

Christian Britschgi | 6.17.2026 4:15 PM

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While votes are still being counted, it appears that D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George has won a commanding victory in the city's Democratic mayoral primary. 

The initial count shows her earning 52 percent of the vote, while former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie trails with just 36 percent support. A handful of minor candidates' vote totals are running in the low single digits.   

Barring either a dramatic pro-McDuffie shift in the votes yet to be counted, and nothing short of a miracle in the general election, the self-described socialist Lewis George will be the district's next mayor. 

She's not the only leftist to triumph on election day. 

Down-ballot, progressive candidates for D.C. Council and other open positions also maintain a commanding lead. 

Grading on the curve of big, blue city governance, D.C., under outgoing three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser, has generally been an island of moderation. No longer.

Every indication is that the district's next government will be controlled by hardline progressives and socialists. 

How panicked should we be? This district resident is of two minds. 

On the pessimistic side, Lewis George ran on a left-wing platform of childcare for all, social housing, tax increases on businesses, a generally more activist City Hall, and a much more confrontational approach to the Trump administration. Voters rewarded her handsomely for it. 

A sizable portion of voting district residents........

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