D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George announces run for mayor

D.C . Council member Janeese Lewis George announced Monday that she will run for mayor next year after Mayor Muriel Bowser said that she will not seek a fourth term.

Ms. Lewis George, Ward 4 Democrat and a self-described democratic socialist, said she would focus on affordability and public safety if elected to the District’s highest office.

“Too many residents still feel squeezed financially, from unaffordable housing to childcare, and feel unsafe in their neighborhoods,” Ms. Lewis George said in a written statement.

“Residents face uneven access to opportunity and a city government that on its best days feels unresponsive, and on its worst, is leaving residents out in the cold all because leaders have chosen to prioritize the needs of the well-connected over us,” she said. “That’s wrong, it’s not the DC we should be and that’s why I’m running for Mayor.”

Ms. Lewis George is a native Washingtonian who has served on the council since 2020. Before entering local politics, she worked at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and returned home to be a deputy assistant attorney general for the D.C. Attorney General’s Office.

She chairs the council’s Committee on Facilities, which oversees the Department of Buildings, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of General Services.

In a recent WRC-TV interview, Ms. Lewis George praised New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who is celebrated for her progressive views.

The D.C. Council member is the first mayoral hopeful with broad name recognition to announce a campaign. Some lesser-known candidates have launched their runs for mayor. Robin Gross and Regan Jones have said they will run in next year’s Democratic primary, while Rhonda Hamilton and James McMorris will compete as independents.

D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, at-large independent, has said in recent media interviews that he would be interested in running for mayor.

Ms. Lewis George’s announcement comes less than a week after Mayor Bowser said she would not run for reelection in 2026.

Ms. Bowser has held the office since 2015. The Democratic mayor’s key achievements include steering the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing a generational crime wave that saw spikes in killings and carjackings and securing the Washington Commanders return to the District after nearly 30 years in Prince George’s County.

But President Trump’s second term has seen Ms. Bowser navigating a volatile truce with the White House throughout this year.

The mayor worked with Mr. Trump during his citywide crime crackdown this summer, had homeless encampments cleared at the president’s request and removed a “Black Lives Matter” mural just north of the White House that was installed following George Floyd’s death during Mr. Trump’s first term.

Ms. Bowser has also pushed back on Mr. Trump’s reasoning for the federal crime-fighting mission in the District and criticized Capitol Hill’s encroachment on Home Rule, the 50-year-old law that lets D.C. residents elect a mayor and city council to handle local matters.