DC Mamdani Janeese Lewis George wins Dem mayoral primary after Trump takeover threat

Democratic socialist DC Councilmember Janeese Lewis George triumphed in the District’s Democratic mayoral primary, easily defeating nine other competitors.George, whose insurgent campaign and far-left platform led some to compare her to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is now on a glide path to becoming the deep-blue capital’s first-ever socialist leader after her chief rival, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, conceded Thursday.In a statement, McDuffie confirmed he had called George “to congratulate her on her victory and wish her success as she prepares for the general election.”With an estimated 73% of the vote counted from Tuesday’s primary, George led McDuffie by 18.5 percentage points (52.9%-36.4%) and nearly 17,000 votes out of more than 102,000 ballots cast.George’s signature proposal is a universal child care program which caps parental out-of-pocket spending at 7% of household income.She has offered a vague plan to fund the program by closing tax loopholes and cutting wasteful city spending without raising taxes on the middle class.She has also vowed to boost housing assistance programs, make buses free for those on food stamps, and pressure utility companies against raising rates.Most controversially, George has called to “reform zoning laws” in order to build as many as 72,000 new dwellings — many of which will be multi-family, or higher density, units — over the next five years.That pledge sits uneasily alongside her April purchase of a $1.19 million home in DC’s tony Manor Park neighborhood, 15 days after ranting in an op-ed that single-family zoning “preserves segregation and exacerbates displacement.”George is proposing a spending spree as DC grapples with an eye-watering $1.1 billion budget deficit driven in part by federal layoffs under the second Trump administration.

Outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed a 3.6% spending cut to close the gap.The presumptive mayor has also called for a more aggressive posture against...