Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George is poised to become the next mayor of Washington, D.C., after her primary opponent, Kenyan McDuffie, conceded the race Thursday morning. Decision Desk HQ has not officially called the contest, but Lewis George, a D.C. Council member, holds a commanding double-digit lead, capturing about 53 percent of the vote.
“Earlier this morning, I called Councilmember Janeese Lewis George to congratulate her on her victory and wish her success as she prepares for the general election,” McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, said in a statement Thursday. His concession effectively clears the path for Lewis George to replace outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat who announced her retirement after a decade in office.
Bowser’s decision to step down set the stage for a high-stakes primary to lead the nation’s capital during the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term. Tuesday’s Democratic primary marked the first time in two decades that no incumbent appeared on the ballot, drawing a crowded field of candidates.
Lewis George and McDuffie both held a fundraising advantage over the rest of the pack, and sparse polling ahead of the primary consistently showed Lewis George leading. Both top contenders are former prosecutors, and crime and public safety emerged as the dominant issues in the race, amid heightened scrutiny from residents and criticism from the Trump administration.
Trump last year took federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard in the city, claiming that the nation’s capital had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.” The moves put Bowser in the crosshairs of the administration’s crackdown on crime, even as data from the District showed crime dropped 35 percent in 2024, hitting a 30-year low, and fell another 18 percent in 2025, Trump’s first year back in office.
Lewis George sought to paint McDuffie as soft on Trump, while McDuffie argued that Lewis George was soft on crime. The general election is all but a formality in the solidly Democratic city, and Lewis George is expected to win a four-year term this fall. She will then be tasked with steering the District through the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
For more on the race, see our earlier report on Lewis George’s commanding lead and how ranked-choice voting played out in the primary.
