Story perspectives

Ranked-Choice DC Mayoral Primary: George Leads 52%

6/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

Washington, D.C. held its mayoral primary in 12 years with ranked-choice voting, extending count.
Candidate Janeese Lewis George leads with 52% of votes counted while candidate Kenyan McDuffie trails at 37%.
Councilmember Robert White won the Democratic delegate nomination with 63% as candidate Brooke Pinto conceded.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb was re-elected with over 90% of counted ballots.
Election officials said mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday will be tallied through Saturday.

History

Historical Context

Minneapolis introduced ranked-choice voting in its 2009 mayoral race, the city’s first use of the system, where incumbent R.T. Rybak secured 73.6% (33,234) of the under-46,000 ballots cast. The experiment continued in the 2013 election and has inspired other U.S. jurisdictions to consider RCV, marking a broader shift toward alternative voting methods.

1 of 2

Story summary

Washington, D.C. held its mayoral primary in 12 years with ranked-choice voting, extending count.
Candidate Janeese Lewis George leads with 52% of votes counted while candidate Kenyan McDuffie trails at 37%.
Councilmember Robert White won the Democratic delegate nomination with 63% as candidate Brooke Pinto conceded.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb was re-elected with over 90% of counted ballots.
Election officials said mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday will be tallied through Saturday.

1 / 2