WASHINGTON — Janeese Lewis George carried all eight wards on her way to becoming the District’s next mayor, and with mail ballots still arriving she has already drawn more votes than Mayor Muriel E. Bowser received in her entire 2022 reelection, according to an Inquisitor analysis of precinct-level results from the D.C. Board of Elections.
Lewis George, the Ward 4 Council member and a Democrat, had 161,352 votes, or 84.4 percent of the mayoral vote, in the board’s unofficial results, last updated Nov. 6. Bowser won the 2022 general election with 147,433 votes, or 74.6 percent, in the board’s certified 2022 results.
The count is not finished. Under the board’s rules, mail ballots postmarked by Election Day are accepted through Friday, Nov. 13, and the results remain unofficial until the board certifies them. The figures below come from the board’s precinct-level results file for the Nov. 3 general election, which The Inquisitor totaled by ward.
The returns show a mayor-elect whose margins were wide everywhere but narrowest west of Rock Creek Park and downtown, a turnout map that still tilts toward Northwest, a foie gras ban that passed in every ward, and a State Board of Education race in Ward 3 separated by fewer than 500 votes.
A sweep, with a softer edge in Wards 2 and 3
Lewis George’s strongest showings came in Ward 5, at 88.5 percent, and Ward 1, at 88.1 percent, with Ward 7 close behind at 87.6 percent. Her lowest shares were in Ward 3, at 77.5 percent, and Ward 2, at 78.8 percent. Those were also the wards where independent candidate Rhonda Hamilton did best: 14.8 percent in Ward 3 and 13.8 percent in Ward 2, against 10.0 percent citywide.
Write-in votes for mayor were also most common in Ward 3, at 3.2 percent of the mayoral vote, and Ward 2, at 3.1 percent. Statehood Green candidate Robert L. Gross drew 3.5 percent citywide.
| Ward | Lewis George (D) | Share | Hamilton (I) | Share | Gross (STG) | Write-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | 21,640 | 88.1% | 1,745 | 7.1% | 809 | 379 |
| Ward 2 | 15,706 | 78.8% | 2,756 | 13.8% | 859 | 618 |
| Ward 3 | 19,755 | 77.5% | 3,779 | 14.8% | 1,165 | 805 |
| Ward 4 | 23,347 | 86.6% | 2,203 | 8.2% | 856 | 547 |
| Ward 5 | 24,365 | 88.5% | 1,944 | 7.1% | 803 | 420 |
| Ward 6 | 23,201 | 81.5% | 3,477 | 12.2% | 985 | 790 |
| Ward 7 | 19,258 | 87.6% | 1,765 | 8.0% | 669 | 284 |
| Ward 8 | 14,080 | 86.6% | 1,480 | 9.1% | 518 | 187 |
| Citywide | 161,352 | 84.4% | 19,149 | 10.0% | 6,664 | 4,030 |
Because the mayoral race had more than two candidates, it was conducted under ranked-choice voting, which District voters adopted through Initiative 83. A candidate who wins a majority of first choices wins outright, so Lewis George’s first-round total settles the race. The Washington Post described her as the city’s first democratic socialist mayor. She will succeed Bowser, who did not seek a fourth term.
“It’s a new day for D.C.,” Lewis George told supporters on election night, The 51st reported. Her campaign centered on the cost of living, with proposals for universal affordable child care and more than 70,000 new housing units, the outlet reported.
Turnout: Ward 3 high, Ward 8 low
Across the city, 197,016 ballots had been counted as of the Nov. 6 update, 43.1 percent of the 457,371 registered voters listed in the board’s file. In 2022, the last midterm year, the certified count was 205,774 ballots out of 504,815 registered voters, or 40.8 percent. The 2026 figure will rise as late mail ballots and provisional ballots are added.
The registration totals in the two files are not directly comparable, and the board’s files do not explain the difference. The Inquisitor did not compare turnout ward by ward between the two years because six precincts are assigned to different wards in the 2022 and 2026 files.
Within this year’s count, the gap between wards is wide. Ward 3 led, with ballots from 48.5 percent of registered voters, followed by Ward 4 at 46.2 percent and Ward 1 at 45.6 percent. Ward 8 was lowest, at 34.7 percent, and Ward 7 next, at 39.0 percent.
| Ward | Registered voters | Ballots counted | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | 55,207 | 25,177 | 45.6% |
| Ward 2 | 49,868 | 20,707 | 41.5% |
| Ward 3 | 55,091 | 26,696 | 48.5% |
| Ward 4 | 59,890 | 27,672 | 46.2% |
| Ward 5 | 66,415 | 28,147 | 42.4% |
| Ward 6 | 64,931 | 29,360 | 45.2% |
| Ward 7 | 57,862 | 22,549 | 39.0% |
| Ward 8 | 48,107 | 16,708 | 34.7% |
| Citywide | 457,371 | 197,016 | 43.1% |
The at-large race under ranked choice
The at-large Council contest was the first general election in which District voters ranked candidates for two seats rather than voting for two. Under the board’s rules, rounds of counting continue until two candidates remain, and both are elected.
Democrat Oye Owolewa, the District’s shadow U.S. representative, led first choices with 134,217, or 69.7 percent. Independent Elissa Silverman, who returned to the Council after winning a June special election, was second with 39,525, or 20.5 percent, followed by Republican Darrell Green at 5.9 percent and Statehood Green candidate Darryl Moch at 3.3 percent. The board’s results site lists preliminary ranked-choice tabulations published Nov. 6, and The 51st reported that Silverman won a full term.
Silverman’s first-choice support was uneven across the city. It ran highest in Ward 3, at 32.6 percent, and Ward 6, at 24.8 percent, and lowest in Ward 8, at 8.4 percent, and Ward 7, at 10.9 percent. Owolewa’s share was highest in Wards 8 and 7, above 80 percent in each.
| Ward | Owolewa (D) | Silverman (I) | Green (R) | Moch (STG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | 69.6% | 23.0% | 3.8% | 3.3% |
| Ward 2 | 64.4% | 22.5% | 9.4% | 3.0% |
| Ward 3 | 54.7% | 32.6% | 9.3% | 2.8% |
| Ward 4 | 71.6% | 20.8% | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| Ward 5 | 76.7% | 15.6% | 3.6% | 3.7% |
| Ward 6 | 63.0% | 24.8% | 8.4% | 3.2% |
| Ward 7 | 80.9% | 10.9% | 3.9% | 3.9% |
| Ward 8 | 82.6% | 8.4% | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| Citywide | 69.7% | 20.5% | 5.9% | 3.3% |
Foie gras ban passed everywhere, but many skipped it
Initiative 86, the Prohibiting Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026, was approved with 124,296 votes in favor and 45,457 against, or 73.2 percent yes. It passed in every ward, from 70.3 percent in Ward 2 to 76.3 percent in Ward 8. The measure bans force-feeding birds to enlarge their livers and the sale of foie gras and similar products in the District, with civil fines of $1,000 to $5,000, starting July 1, 2027, subject to funding and congressional review, WUSA9 reported.
The ballot question also drew the most skipped votes of any citywide contest. Of ballots counted, 13.8 percent left it blank, compared with 2.7 percent for mayor. The share was highest in Ward 8, at 20.7 percent, and Ward 7, at 20.4 percent, and lowest in Ward 1, at 9.6 percent.
| Ward | Yes | No | Yes share | Left blank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | 16,959 | 5,795 | 74.5% | 9.6% |
| Ward 2 | 12,676 | 5,348 | 70.3% | 12.9% |
| Ward 3 | 16,988 | 7,033 | 70.7% | 9.9% |
| Ward 4 | 17,209 | 5,910 | 74.4% | 16.4% |
| Ward 5 | 17,998 | 6,181 | 74.4% | 14.0% |
| Ward 6 | 18,833 | 7,678 | 71.0% | 9.7% |
| Ward 7 | 13,543 | 4,370 | 75.6% | 20.4% |
| Ward 8 | 10,090 | 3,142 | 76.3% | 20.7% |
| Citywide | 124,296 | 45,457 | 73.2% | 13.8% |
The closest race on the ballot
The tightest contest in the District was for the Ward 3 seat on the State Board of Education. Incumbent Eric Goulet had 10,527 votes, or 50.5 percent, to 10,054, or 48.3 percent, for Aaron Wesolowski, a margin of 473 votes, with 252 write-ins. The 51st reported that Goulet appears to have narrowly held the seat. Ballots are still arriving through Nov. 13, and the margin is the narrowest of any citywide, Council or State Board of Education contest on the ballot.
Other results were lopsided. Democrat Robert White won the race for delegate to the House with 87.3 percent. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson had 92.8 percent and Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb had 92.4 percent. Ward Council members Matthew Frumin in Ward 3, Zachary Parker in Ward 5 and Charles Allen in Ward 6 won new terms, and Democrat Aparna Raj won the Ward 1 seat with 21,088 votes.
In the chairman’s race, 10,661 ballots, or 5.4 percent, had no vote for chairman, about twice the share that skipped the mayoral race.
What comes next
Lewis George announced her transition team on Nov. 4, naming Jennifer Levy, a campaign adviser and former first deputy attorney general in the New York State attorney general’s office, as transition director. The co-chairs are Aaron Jenkins, Beatriz “BB” Otero, Gautam Raghavan, Greg Akerman and Kimberly Perry, according to the transition announcement, which said the team will help select deputy mayors, agency directors and commissioners and plan her first 100 days.
“My transition team is rooted in DC and will work tirelessly to ensure we have a successful transition,” Lewis George said in the announcement, adding that they will help her “make DC safer, more affordable, and accountable to residents in all 8 Wards.”
She takes office in January facing a projected budget gap that could exceed $800 million, The 51st reported. The Board of Elections will continue processing mail and provisional ballots before certifying the results, and The Inquisitor will update these tables when the certified file is posted.
How we did this
The Inquisitor downloaded the Board of Elections precinct-level results file for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election, which the board’s site lists as last updated Nov. 6 at 3:57 p.m. Eastern time, and summed votes by the ward number assigned to each precinct. Candidate shares are calculated from votes for candidates and write-ins, excluding over-votes and under-votes. Turnout is ballots counted divided by the registered voter totals in the same file. The 2022 figures come from the board’s certified 2022 general election file. Ranked-choice results for multi-candidate races are based on first choices except where noted.
Leave a Reply