Non-Voting Delegate to Congress
Democratic Primary — June 16, 2026
What's at stake
DC's Delegate can speak on the House floor, serve on committees, introduce legislation, and fight for the District's budget — but cannot vote on final passage of bills. Incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton is not seeking re-election after 18 terms. This is one of the most competitive and expensive delegate races in DC history. Five Democrats are in the primary, and ranked choice voting applies for the first time in June 2026.
Candidates
Each candidate's full set of positions is listed on their profile page.
Current DC At-Large Councilmember; chairs housing committee since 2023. 5th-generation Washingtonian (Petworth); former legislative counsel to Delegate Norton (2008) and first OAG Director of Community Outreach (2015). Endorsed by Free DC, WFP, AFL-CIO, CBC PAC, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Endorsements (25)
Labor unions
- Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
- Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
- AFSCME District Council 20
- Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU Local 689)
- Committee of Interns and Residents (SEIU Healthcare)
- LIUNA Metropolitan Area Laborers' District Council
- International Association of Iron Workers
Elected/Appointed Officials
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Charles Allen (Ward 6, DC Council)
- Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4, DC Council)
- Ben Williams (Ward 1, DC State Board of Education, Vice President)
- Brandon Best (Ward 6, DC State Board of Education)
Advocacy & community organizations
- Free DC
- Working Families Party
- Congressional Black PAC (CBC PAC)
- Collective PAC
- Jews United for Justice
- DC for Democracy
- Greater Greater Washington
- Our Revolution, DC Chapter
- DC Latino Caucus
- Ward One Democrats
- Progressive Caucus PAC
- GWU College Democrats
Individuals & public figures
- Pastor William Lamar IV (Metropolitan AME Church)
Norton's Senior Legislative Counsel for eight years; chief strategist who took the DC statehood bill from a 1993 loss to passing the House twice, with a unanimous Democratic vote the second time. Georgetown Law, Austin College, and Oxford alumnus; AmeriCorps veteran.
Endorsements (16)
Elected/Appointed Officials
- Sandra SS Seegars (statehood advocate and ANC Commissioner)
Individuals & public figures
- Noah Wills (Political Director, DC Statehood PAC)
- Alex Baptiste (statehood advocate and policy expert)
- Ann Hoffman (statehood advocate)
- Leon Lowery (statehood advocate)
- Caroline Petti (statehood advocate)
- Loretta Neumann (former Congressional staffer and statehood advocate)
- Lily Adelstein (former Norton staff)
- Michael Fraser (former Norton staff)
- Abby Korb (former Norton staff)
- Jessica Laycock (former Norton staff)
- Alexander Loewi, PhD (former Norton staff)
- Jack Miller (former Norton staff)
- Blake Paradis (former Norton staff)
- Jesse Herman (current House staff)
- Ahmi Thitayan (current House staff)
Physicist; AAAS fellow in Ed Markey's office; senior advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; NRC chair under Obama (led Fukushima response); renewable energy developer; Princeton Lecturer. 27-year DC resident, son of an immigrant. Proposes "No Taxation UNTIL Representation" and a public power authority to cut utility costs.
Full profile →Ward 2 Councilmember; chair of Judiciary and Public Safety committee. Cornell and Georgetown Law graduate; former DC OAG attorney. Led Secure DC and Peace DC bills (50% violent crime drop); authored RECOVERY Act (Downtown commercial-to-residential conversions). Detailed housing plan ("Breaking Ground DC"). Did not participate in DC Fair Elections Program; raised more than any other delegate candidate.
Endorsements (36)
Elected/Appointed Officials
- Angela Alsobrooks (US Senator, D-MD)
- Richard Blumenthal (US Senator, D-CT)
- Anita Bonds (At-Large DC Councilmember)
- Tony Williams (Former DC Mayor)
- Charlene Drew Jarvis (Former Ward 4 Councilmember, 1979–2001)
- Bill Lightfoot (Former At-large Councilmember, 1989–1997)
- Michael D. Brown (Former DC Shadow Senator, 2007–2025)
- The Honorable Mary Cheh (Former Ward 3 Councilmember)
- Rick Murphy (Former Georgetown ANC Chair)
- Allister Chang (Ward 2 Representative on the State Board of Education, Ward 2 Resident)
- Tom Birch (Former Georgetown ANC Chair)
- John Lever (Former Georgetown ANC Commissioner)
- James Pittman, Esq. (Former Deputy Attorney General for the District of Columbia)
Advocacy & community organizations
- DC YIMBYs
- Opportunity DC
- DMV New Liberals
- Small Multifamily & Rental Owners Association (SMOA)
Individuals & public figures
- Gretchen Wharton (Campaign Co-chair, Lifelong Shaw Resident, Community & Arts Activist and Chair of Shaw Main Streets, Ward 2 Resident)
- Shawn Townsend (Campaign Co-chair, Community and Business Leader, Ward 5 Resident)
- Elizabeth Miller (Campaign Finance Co-chair, Community and Arts Leader, Ward 2 Resident)
- Rahsaan Bernard (Campaign Finance Co-chair, Advocate for bridging the DC community across the Anacostia River, Ward 8 Resident)
- Dave Hoagland (President, District of Columbia Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 36 and Ward 5 resident)
- Kerry Kennedy
- Jenise 'Mama Jo' Patterson (DC family advocate and Ward 1 Resident)
- Nancy and Marc Duber (Community Leaders)
- Lisa D. T. Rice, S.M. (Ward 7 resident, mom of a Ward 8 DCPS teacher, gun safety advocate, democracy reform activist and proposer of Initiative 83)
- Ian Callender (Award Winning Cultural Architect, Suite Nation, Ward 6 resident)
- Amy Titus (President, Citizens Association of Georgetown)
- Brenda Richardson (Community and Public Safety Advocate, Ward 8 Resident)
- Alexander M. 'Alex' Padro (small business, arts and preservation advocate, Ward 2 Resident)
- Jessica and Ezra Glass (small business owners, hospitality and real estate developers, Ward 2 Residents)
- Clint Mann (President of Urban Pace and Ward 1 resident and community leader)
- Ernie Drew Jarvis (Business leader and Ward 2 resident)
- Katherine Weishaar (Ward 6 resident and public school education advocate)
- Graham McLaughlin (Ward 7 community leader and resident)
- Gerren Price (Business leader, Ward 5 Resident, and Father of 2)
30-year DC resident; came to DC in 1995 as a White House Fellow (VP Gore). Former ADA (Philadelphia), DOJ Counsel to AG Janet Reno, Microsoft executive (GM Corporate Strategy; GM Responsible Growth), president of College Summit / Peer Forward, DNC Deputy National Finance Chair, National Co-Chair of Women for Harris. Bestselling co-author of "Microtrends." Endorsed by former AG Eric Holder, former Sec. Navy Carlos Del Toro, and three Members of Congress. Proposes a strategic "grand bargain" on statehood and a regional Capital Caucus.
Endorsements (17)
Elected/Appointed Officials
- Eric Holder (Former US Attorney General)
- Carlos Del Toro (78th Secretary of the Navy)
- Richard Danzig (Former Secretary of the Navy)
- Jaime Harrison (Former DNC Chair)
- Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)
- Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA)
- Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
- Tricia Duncan (Ward 3 ANC Commissioner)
- Jeff Denny (Former ANC Member, Ward 3)
- Chris Moore (Retired Police Chief, San Jose)
Advocacy & community organizations
- DC Women in Politics (preference poll winner)
Individuals & public figures
- J.B. Schramm (Co-Founder, Peer Forward)
- Naomi Reem (Former Head of School, Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School)
- Theresa Atta Ifogah (Former Director of Program, Peer Forward)
- A'shanti Gholar (President & CEO, Emerge)
- Riman Barakat (co-CEO, Feel Beit, Jerusalem)
- Karen Brunwasser (co-CEO, Feel Beit, Jerusalem)