{"id":651,"date":"2026-06-16T12:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/?p=651"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:35:09","slug":"washington-dc-voters-cast-ballots-in-crucial-primaries-as-trump-reshapes-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/?p=651","title":{"rendered":"Washington, DC, voters cast ballots in crucial primaries as Trump reshapes capital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">WASHINGTON &#8212; <\/span>Voters in the nation&#8217;s capital head to the polls on Tuesday <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/washington-dc-primary-elections-bowser-norton-trump-ab71ebd644fa92fa8a9e1c906e8227bc\">to select party candidates<\/a> for mayor and the district&#8217;s delegate to Congress, an election taking place <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-reflecting-pool-golf-course-washington-renovations-e708a36ef05a5a3f96d74e53d41c2109\">as Washington undergoes major change<\/a> under President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The primary marks the first time in a generation that D.C. residents will vote for a new mayor and delegate in the same election. And in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, that party&#8217;s winner is expected to come out on top in the general election in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The most prominent race is for mayor after <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-bowser-dc-home-rule-national-democrats-8e262a15267bdae66049201a4cc4a6a8\">Muriel Bowser<\/a>, who was first elected in 2014, decided not to seek a fourth term. Democratic front-runners Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie are hoping to replace her. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The district&#8217;s long-serving congressional delegate <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-washington-eleanor-holmes-norton-federal-intervention-8dc90cfb34e8692db2d7ff4f609ebb68\">Eleanor Holmes Norton<\/a> is also stepping down, with top candidates council member Brooke Pinto and at-large council member Robert White Jr. vying for the role. Republican Denise Rosado, an immigration lawyer, is running unopposed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The primary will include rank choice voting for the first time, which D.C. election officials have warned could delay results for days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Central to all the campaigns has been the city&#8217;s fraught relationship with the Trump administration and the federal government. The city has limited autonomy and federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C. Council.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">That autonomy has been further squeezed under Trump, who launched a federal law enforcement surge last summer and sent in the National Guard for <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/national-guard-surge-washington-dc-trump-7db1c795056a51c9fdc2d9c7f4c2147c\">an ongoing, open-ended deployment<\/a>. Trump&#8217;s efforts to downsize the federal government also roiled the capital region, costing thousands of people their jobs. He has also been reshaping the city by removing or renovating storied landmarks and putting his name or image on buildings. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Trump just last week threatened a new federal takeover of Washington, when asked about his response to a potential victory by Lewis George, a democratic socialist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cMaybe we\u2019d take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Bowser found herself walking a fine line between staying in Trump\u2019s good graces and responding to the concerns of constituents, many of whom said she didn&#8217;t push back hard enough on Trump&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Republicans in Congress meanwhile have used their oversight authority to challenge the local government\u2019s limited autonomy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We are the capital of the United States, and it\u2019s an incredibly symbolic place, this city,\u201d said Amanda Huron, a professor at the University of the District of Columbia who teaches courses on D.C. history and politics. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">She said it&#8217;s important to remind the public that what the federal government does to its capital city is a harbinger of \u201chow it\u2019s going to treat the rest of the country as well.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lewis George, in responding to questions sent by The Associated Press, said her top priority is addressing \u201cthe affordability crisis here in DC, which the Trump administration has only made worse by unjustly firing federal employees en masse and militarizing our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">McDuffie said his top priority is public safety. He would add 1,000 police officers over four years and take a public health approach to violence reduction that would include a focus on mental health. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Other candidates for mayor include former council member Vincent Orange and Hope Solomon, a former federal contractor who lost her job because of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Some residents have expressed concern on how Trump will react to pushback. Pat Wheeler, who lives in Washington, said candidates must be realistic. Trump still has enormous power over the Republican Congress and could easily order members to take steps against the city&#8217;s home rule authority, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Five people are seeking to replace Norton, who is finishing her 18th term representing D.C. in Congress. Norton, 89, faced heavy pressure to stand down by critics, including her former chief of staff, who said she was diminished and not capable of mounting the defense the moment called for against Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Pinto and White both say their top priority for the city is self-governance along with affordability for middle and working class residents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Other candidates seeking the Democratic spot on the ticket include Trent Holbrook, a former Norton staffer; Kenney Zalesne, the former Deputy National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee; and Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/US\/wireStory\/washington-dc-voters-cast-ballots-crucial-primaries-trump-133911165\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Voters in the nation&#8217;s capital head to the polls on Tuesday to select party candidates for mayor and the district&#8217;s delegate to Congress, an election taking place as Washington undergoes major change under President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration. The primary marks the first time in a generation that D.C. residents will vote for a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}