Ward 7 up for grabs as incumbents fight to keep seats in D.C. primary (2024)

Ward 7 has the most interesting race Tuesday, in which 10 candidates are vying to succeed outgoing D.C. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D), who is not seeking another term as he recovers from health challenges. The other ward-level races generally pit incumbents against lesser-known competitors.

In Ward 2, council member Brooke Pinto (D) is running unopposed. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D), seeking a second term in Ward 4, has drawn challenges from Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Lisa Gore and municipal investment banker Paul Johnson. Two-term council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) is running against Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Salim Adofo and former Ballou High School principal Rahman Branch. And one at-large seat is on the Democratic primary ballot, where incumbent Robert C. White Jr. (D) is in a race against comedian Rodney “Red” Grant.

At the congressional level, voters will be asked to select the city’s various nonvoting representatives in Congress, including the House delegate seat long held by Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who is running for reelection for the 17th time this year. While the general election is in November, in the District, the June Democratic primary typically determines the winners.

The Ward 7 campaign became the most acrimonious this campaign cycle, roiled by attack ads and beefs between candidates — particularly as a relative political newcomer, Kingman Park Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Ebony Payne, gained ground on some of the more established candidates. In the waning days of the race, several council members issued endorsem*nts in Ward 7. Last week, a trio of lawmakers — Trayon White, Pinto and Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) — backed Wendell Felder, who is the Mayfair-based chair of his Advisory Neighborhood Commission and had already received a critical endorsem*nt from Gray. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) endorsed Eboni-Rose Thompson, the president and Ward 7 representative on the State Board of Education.

Felder, Thompson and Payne, along with lawyer Veda Rasheed, have been largely neck-and-neck in fundraising from District residents, one measurement of who leads the pack — but Felder and Thompson had the most in the bank heading into the final stretch. Felder, who was also endorsed Monday by former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams, has emerged as the closest to an establishment darling in the contest — and is among the most politically connected, with his background working in the administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and as former chair of the Ward 7 Democrats.

Thompson has an edge as the only candidate to have won a ward-wide race, on the state board. Endorsed by the teachers and firefighters unions, she also has broad backing from the progressive wing.

Payne, a Kingman Park advisory neighborhood commissioner who runs the herbal medicine business District Herbs, made a splash with vigorous fundraising efforts while touting support from some House lawmakers, an unusual national approach to a local race. She’s also distinguished herself as the only Ward 7 candidate who lives west of the Anacostia River and who staunchly opposes a football stadium at the nearby RFK site — a divisive issue in the ward and across the city.

Rasheed has leveraged name recognition and a base that she built in her previous run against Gray in 2020, combined with her reputation for community advocacy against gun violence.

Ward 7 voters who spoke to The Washington Post overwhelmingly pointed to public safety, particularly for youths, as a top issue that affected how they chose their candidate. “The violence has become out of control,” said Rasheed supporter Michele Pinkard, pointing to Rasheed’s advocacy on that issue. “I think she would be supportive of more activities or recreation for the youth.”

Concerns over youth violence drew Ward 7 resident Lauren Fraser to candidate Kelvin Brown, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, who she believes has the right background as a former teacher to work toward realistic solutions: “Once you’ve been a teacher, you know about the concerning issues we have with our youth and parent involvement,” she said.

Other candidates include Nate Fleming, D.C.’s former shadow representative in Congress; Denise Reed, who previously worked on the staffs of various council members, including three chairs; Villareal “VJ” Johnson, a former five-term neighborhood commissioner; Ebbon Allen, an educator; and Roscoe Grant, a small-business advocate.

Across all other council races, incumbents are generally favored to win even as their opponents make the case for change. Grant has stressed that he is not simply a comedian or entertainer, pointing to his work on D.C. youth programming that he said has prepared him to do the work of a council member. Robert White, meanwhile, has run on his leadership of the council’s housing committee while promising to continue working on legislative proposals to reduce crime.

In Ward 8, the city’s most disadvantaged ward, Trayon White maintains a strong base of supporters. Still, Adofo and Branch have leaned on their experiences as a community advocate and a principal, respectively, to animate voters seeking change. But with few major policy differences among the candidates, Trayon White’s opponents could risk splitting the vote.

And in Ward 4, Gore, a retired special agent with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Johnson, who has worked as a mediator, have sought to portray Lewis George as too soft on public safety — although it remains to be seen whether either candidate can unseat Lewis George, a self-described Democratic socialist who beat an incumbent backed by the mayor in 2020.

All registered D.C. voters should have received a mailed ballot in recent weeks; ballots that are mailed back to the Board of Elections must be postmarked by Tuesday. Alternatively, voters can drop off a ballot at any vote center or ballot drop box until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The city also offers same-day voter registration at any of its vote centers, requiring proof of residency. And for the first time, noncitizens are permitted to vote in local races, though they cannot vote for federal offices. Polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, though anyone who gets in line before the deadline will be able to vote.