OAN Staff Addie Davis
10:20 AM – Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Washington, D.C., is holding their primary elections for a number of offices, including for mayor, as well as to elect a delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
In addition to deciding their top candidates on Tuesday, D.C. voters will have the chance to rank up to four more candidates, a total of five, in a race as the district rolls out its new ranked choice voting system.
D.C. boasts a heavy Democrat majority, with Democrat presidential candidate and then-Vice President Kamala Harris receiving over 90% of the vote in the 2024 election. This has led to crowded Democrat primaries, and Republicans are reportedly not providing a candidate for the mayoral primary election.
According to the Associated Press, the Republican primaries for D.C. attorney general and the U.S. House delegate each feature one candidate running unopposed, Manuel Rivera and Denise Rosado.
As a district rather than a state, D.C. does not have a U.S. representative in Congress. However, residents elect a nonvoting delegate for the House, who may introduce legislation and boasts the same powers as representatives in House committees, according to Congress.
On the Democrat side, however, a slew of candidates are featured for the various offices, including for mayor. The new voting provision would thus likely affect the Democrat primaries.
If no single candidate receives a majority of votes, the individual with the fewest votes is eliminated, with their votes then being distributed to the other candidates based on the second rankings by the voters. This process continues until a candidate wins the majority of active votes.
The D.C. Board of Elections provided various materials on their website to explain the concept, including a PowerPoint presentation, as well as an opportunity for site visitors to “rank ice cream flavors” to illustrate the process.
Incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-Wash. D.C.), who has held the office since 2015, is not running for reelection, leaving the field wide open. A number of Democrat candidates have thrown their hats in the ring, with candidates Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie reportedly in the lead.
Per incoming media reports, the new system may extend vote counting times as residents wait to find out who will represent them.
Several city offices are also up for election, including the Ward 1 council seat, in which notably, two Democrat candidates in the primary race endorsed each other, urging supporters to rank the other as second on their ballots, according to The Washington Informer.
Polls close in D.C. at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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