In a city where Kamala Harris got 90 percent of the vote, winning a Democratic primary is as good as winning the election. But DC residents do still vote every November, with Democrats often facing unfamiliar names running as Republicans. Who will they be this year, and why run in a place where they have so little chance of victory?
Jett Jasper, DC Council, Ward 1
This Adams Morgan resident, who works at the conservative Leadership Institute, fell in love with the diversity and friendliness of Adams Morgan when he moved there two years ago but saw issues with crime, litter, and graffiti. “We know it’s an uphill battle,” Jasper says, “but having a choice, having a different opinion, is important to democracy.”
Jeff Kihien, DC Council, Ward 5
Kihien was inspired to seek office by rats. “My ward has a big rat problem,” he says. “It was very difficult at night and even in the day to go to my backyard and sit there, because it was full of rats.” Born in Peru, he’s lived in the US for 27 years and in DC nearly as long, working as a debt-collection lawyer and consultant. He was also angered by how difficult the city made it for him to evict a family who he said was selling drugs from a building he owns. As a council member, Kihien would support a “family wage”—a higher minimum wage that, in his view, would allow a father to be the only working person in a household, “as it used to be 60 years ago.”
Abi-Ananiah Prudent, DC Council Chair
“God created me and created all things and is guiding me through life,” says the Navy Yard resident. “That’s the worldview that I approach all things with.” Religion led Prudent—who is from Georgia and moved here about two years ago—to a career with Concerned Women for America, an evangelical antifeminist nonprofit. It also guided her to challenge Phil Mendelson for chair of the DC Council. Frustrated with crime, she organized prayer sessions for better DC leadership before deciding to run herself.
Jorge Rice, DC Council, Ward 6
A longtime Capitol Hill resident, Rice works as a conflict mediator for federal agencies. After a 2024 attempted robbery and assault on the DC streetcar left him with a broken nose, he started to consider running for office. “I decided not to sit behind the computer and complain but rather take action,” he says. “I’m not involved in national politics. I just want to focus on local issues and making the city more accountable.”
Manuel Rivera, DC Attorney General
“I’m proudly one of the most unconventional Republicans you will meet,” says Rivera, an immigration lawyer. A former conservative Democrat, Rivera helped establish the DC law that entitles undocumented people to worker’s compensation. He thinks the AG’s office could improve its efficiency to save DC money, be more transparent, and better address juvenile crime.
Denise Rosado, Congressional Delegate
A former attorney for Brendan Carr’s FCC, Rosado was once a Democrat. Rather than pursue statehood, she wants to make Washingtonians exempt from federal income tax. Rosado also wants to restore the former name of the Commanders and incentivize AI companies to invest in DC. “We need diverse choices,” she says. “The 50 years of one-party rule [in DC] has not worked.”
This article appears in the August 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.
