After a lengthy campaign featuring eight candidates, voters chose Tuesday night to nominate D.C. City Councilwoman Muriel Bowser as the Democratic Party’s candidate for mayor.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Bowser held over 44% of the vote – an almost 12 point advantage over runner-up and incumbent Mayor Vincent Gray.
Gray is currently under investigation for campaign finance violations dating back to his 2010 mayoral campaign. Gray held sizable leads in the polls until donor Jeffrey E. Thompson implicated the incumbent in a plot that illegally forwarded over $700,000 to Gray’s campaign in 2010.
City-wide turnout totaled about 22% of registered voters – a noticeable decline from 2010, when about 40% voted in the primaries.
Bowser still has to face independent candidate and at-large District Councilman David E. Catania, but her chances of winning look promising: every Democratic mayoral nominee since 1973 has won in the general election.
At the Bowser election night watch event, supporters chanted “All 8 Wards,” highlighting the main theme of Bowser’s campaign, while wearing shirts that said “Ask me about Muriel” and “Any Color but Gray.” Results were not conclusive until after 11pm, leaving many at the event frustrated, but Bowser’s early lead in the polls and the fast-paced and (very) loud music gave the attendees plenty to be excited about.
Bowser spoke briefly before her victory speech, asking the crowd to “wait with me a few more moments” while they waited on the board of elections. She thanked her supporters for “372 days” of campaigning across all 8 wards.
Bowser specifically thanked the voters of Ward 8, where the gathering was held and where she credits a straw poll victory at the start of the race for helping her break away from the large pack of candidates.
She also struck a conciliatory note, asking for a round of applause for the campaign efforts of the other candidates and noting that “we’ve been competitors up till this point, and tomorrow we’re all going to be friends.” The general election will be held on November 4.