DCNOW Endorses D.C. Council Candidates in 2026 Special and Primary Elections

By: Miriam Edelman

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – DCNOW, which endorses candidates to local office in Washington, D.C., announces its endorsements in many local races on June 16, 2026. The local races are of D.C.’s special election (D.C. Council At-Large, non-majority party) and primary elections (Mayor; Attorney General; and D.C. Council: Chair, D.C. Council At-Large, and wards One, Three, Five, and Six). The winner of the special election will serve for the rest of the current term, which will end in early 2027. That seat will be up for election in the November 2026 general election for a complete four-year term. In contrast, the primary election winners will advance to the November 2026 general election.

Ranked Choice Voting

All three sets of elections (special election, primary election, and general election) will use Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), D.C.’s new elections method that is being used for the first time in District of Columbia on June 16^th. Multiple DCNOW’s blog pieces, including “How Ranked Choice Voting Works in D.C.,” have been on RCV.

Not all races in the primary elections will use RCV. For example, as the following part of the Ward Three Democratic party sample ballot (that can be accessed via https://dcboe.org/elections/2026-elections) shows, the city-wide At-Large Member of the D.C. Council race, but not the city-wide shadow Representative race, uses RCV:

This difference occurs because there are at least three candidates in the first race, but not the second race. In addition, RCV is not used in local party races, such as Democratic National Committeeman, as shown in the same ballot:

The D.C. Board of Elections created online resources that prepare voters to vote using RCV. Voters can practice voting using RCV on an interactive ballot on https://vr.dcboe.org/253434754272964 and a sample “LET'S RANK DC's FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVORS!” activity. People can access a sample ballot from “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” guidance site. More resources include: A PowerPoint Presentation (that can be acquired on https://www.dcboe.org/rcv), videos (a Town Hall video, a training video, a webinar video, and a workshop video).

DCNOW’s Endorsements

In the special election, DCNOW endorses Elissa Silverman (Independent). Everyone, regardless of political party, can vote in the special election.

In the primary election, DCNOW endorses the following candidates:

-          Janeese Lewis George (Democrat) – For election to Mayor (There is an open-seat election because the incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser is not running for reelection.)

-          Brian Schwalbe (Democrat) – For re-election to Attorney General

-          Phil Mendelson (Democrat) – For re-election to D.C. Council Chair

-          Oye Owolewa (Democrat) – For election to an At-Large D.C. Council (There is an open-seat election because the incumbent Anita Bonds is not running for reelection.)

-          Aparna Raj (Democrat) – For election to the Ward One D.C. Council seat (There is an open-seat election because the incumbent Brianne Nadeau is not running for reelection.)

-          Matthew Frumin (Democrat) – For re-election to the Ward Three seat

-          Zachary Parker (Democrat) – For re-election to the Ward Five seat

-          Charles Allen (Democrat) – For re-election to the Ward Six seat

Since D.C. has closed primary elections, to vote in a party primary, a person must be registered with a certain political party.

Elections-Related Information

Be sure to vote in these elections. People can vote:

-          By mail (United States Postal Service)

-          By placing their ballot in any mail ballot drop box (Drop boxes will be open until 8:00 p.m. on June 16, 2026) – A list of drop box locations is on https://dcboe.org/voters/find-out-where-to-vote/mail-ballot-drop-box-locations. There are multiple drop boxes in each of D.C.’s eight wards.

-          In person – either:

§  During early voting period (From 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from June 8, 2026, to June 14, 2026) – A list of early voting centers is on https://earlyvoting.dcboe.org/. There are multiple early voting centers in each ward.

§  On election day (From 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on June 16, 2026) – A list of election day vote centers is on https://dcboe.org/voters/find-out-where-to-vote/election-day-vote-centers. There are multiple election day vote centers in every ward. People can vote at any vote center.

People can track their mailed-in ballot on https://votedc.ballottrax.net/voter/.

Non-citizens, who are D.C. residents, can vote in these the special election and primary elections. As shown in the D.C. Board of Election’s website’s Sample Ballots section, non-citizens will be able to vote in only Mayor, Attorney General, and D.C. Council races.