D.C. Mayor Primary Election 2026: The Race Heats Up

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With Mayor Muriel Bowser retiring after three terms, the Democratic primary has become a highly competitive contest. To succeed her, top contenders include City Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. The twist? D.C. uses ranked-choice voting, where voters' second and later preferences come into play if no candidate earns a majority of first-place votes.

The vote count is an estimate based on early votes and information from county election officials. As NBC News gathers more data, the expected vote total may change.

Source: Vote data via the Associated Press, projections by the NBC News Decision Desk.

Not all races have been decided yet; some are still on the horizon.

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