Legal Insurrection by Elizabeth Stauffer 5/24/2026
Democratic Socialist candidate Janeese Lewis George, 38, has emerged as the frontrunner in the city’s mayoral primary race.There was a time in America when even the faintest hint of socialist sympathies could end a political career. As recently as six years ago, Democrats so feared the potential nomination of openly socialist presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that they moved heaven and earth to ensure that Joe Biden emerged as the nominee instead.
But it did not take long for the Left’s affinity for socialist governance to become not merely acceptable, but intellectually fashionable, particularly among the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Candidates and politicians aligned with this growing movement were soon celebrated as the party’s rising stars. Before long, New York City elected Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as its mayor.
At the same time, voters in Seattle, Washington, elected Democratic Socialist Katie Wilson as mayor. And suddenly, the floodgates were open. The Democratic Socialist label that candidates used to run from has since become all the rage.
And now, it appears that Washington, D.C., may be poised to elect a Democratic Socialist mayor of its own.
Democratic Socialist candidate Janeese Lewis George, 38, has emerged as the frontrunner in the city’s mayoral primary race. A recent City Cast DC poll showed Lewis George leading the field with 39% support.
Her closest rival, Kenyan McDuffie, 51, a more centrist Democrat, finished with 34%. The next highest vote recipient received just 7%, and 24% of respondents remain undecided.
The primary will take place on June 16.
[City Cast noted that because D.C. uses ranked-choice voting, it is too early to count McDuffie out. When voters were asked to identify their second-choice candidate, 27% selected McDuffie, compared with 15% for Lewis George.]
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/05/uh-oh-dc-may-be-poised-to-elect-a-mamdani-of-its-own/
