Get to know all the candidates running for office in DC’s primary election

Follow WTOP’s team coverage of the D.C. primary and Election 2026 online, on air at 103.5 FM or on the WTOP News app.

For the first time, voters in D.C. will used ranked choice voting when they fill out their ballots for the June 16 primary election.

Voters will be deciding the nominees for their party in races for mayor, delegate to Congress, attorney general and several council seats.

Rather than simply selecting one candidate in a race, ranked choice voting allows voters to rank up to five candidates in a single race by order of preference. The method can make it even more important for voters to know more about all the candidates, not just their top choice.

Ahead of D.C.’s primary election in June, WTOP sent a questionnaire to all the candidates in each contested race, asking them to introduce themselves to voters, share their priorities and weigh in on some of the most pressing issues facing the District.

Candidates submitted their responses through an online form and their answers were published verbatim.

Click on the candidates’ names to see their responses and learn more about them. The candidates that don’t have responses hyperlinked to their name did not respond to WTOP’s questionnaire despite multiple attempts to reach them.

Mayor

Delegate to House of Representatives

At-large council member

There is also a special election to fill Kenyan McDuffie’s Independent at-large seat on the D.C. Council. The council appointed a former McDuffie staffer, Doni Crawford, to fill his seat until this special election could take place. Crawford is running to finish the term, which ends in January.

The seat is included in the primary election, but the special election will determine who holds the seat until January, when the winner of this election cycle will be sworn in to start their term.

All the candidates in the special election are running as independents, since there can only be one Democratic at-large member of the council at a time. At-large Council member Anita Bonds is a Democrat, but is not seeking reelection, which is why there are Democratic candidates for an at-large seat in the primary election.

At-large council member (special election)

Ward 1 council member

Ward 5 council member

Bernita Carmichael
Bridget French
Zachary Parker, incumbent

Ward 6 council member

Attorney general

Brian Schwalb, incumbent
J.P. Szymkowicz

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