This year will be seismic for District politics: The city is picking a new mayor, an unusual number of council members, and likely a new congressional delegate. The shuffling-around of familiar figures is confusing, so here’s a first look.
Robert White. The at-large DC Council member and critic of Mayor Muriel Bowser once worked for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Now he’s running for the embattled congresswoman’s seat against . . .
Brooke Pinto. The Ward 2 council member has made a name for herself as chair of the body’s public-safety committee. Before her successful long-shot council bid in 2020, she worked for . . .
Karl Racine. DC’s previous attorney general is being talked about as a candidate for mayor–a race that’s been heating up since Bowser announced she won’t run. If Racine runs, he’d be facing another of his former employees. . .
Janeese Lewis-George. The current council member raised $40,000 to qualify for public financing in an unprecedented four hours and will reportedly run as a Zohran Mamdani–style democratic socialist. She’ll face strong candidates in the primary, including . . .
Kenyan McDuffie. Once a DC mail carrier, he’s now an at-large council member–or he was before he recently resigned to run for mayor. The council will appoint a replacement until a special election, as when a vacant seat led to the 2012 appointment of McDuffie’s colleague . . .
Anita Bonds. The at-large council member won’t seek reelection in 2026, opening the field to candidates like Candace Tiana Nelson, Leniqua’dominique Jenkins, and Oye Owolewa. But this race still isn’t as crowded as the one to replace . . .
Brianne Nadeau. The Ward 1 council member won’t seek reelection, and several candidates have already joined the race. Democratic Socialists of America member and tenant organizer Aparna Raj is running against Bowser appointee Jackie Reyes Yanes, activist Terry Lynch, and Rashida Brown, whom Nadeau endorsed.
Photograph of White by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images.
Photograph of Pinto by Marvin Joseph/Washington Post via Getty Images.
Photograph of Lewis-George by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for SPACEs in Action.
Photograph of Racine by Alex Wong/Getty Images.
Photograph of McDuffie by Jahi Chikwendiu/Washington Post via Getty Images.
Photograph of Bonds and Nadeau by Craig Hudson/Washington Post via Getty Images.
This article appears in the February 2026 issue of Washingtonian.
Ike Allen covers politics, food, culture, and transportation in DC and writes the monthly Hidden Eats column for the magazine. He grew up in DC.
