{"id":423,"date":"2026-06-14T10:10:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=423"},"modified":"2026-06-14T10:10:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:10:51","slug":"congressional-democrats-are-checked-out-of-d-c-s-mayoral-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=423","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Democrats Are Checked Out of D.C.\u2019s Mayoral Race"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Spend time online and it\u2019s not hard to find prominent names in the Democratic Party\u2019s establishment circling the wagons around Kenyan McDuffie, the more moderate candidate in the mayoral race for Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Read more Democrats Vow \u2018Day One\u2019 Epstein Hearings if They Flip House<\/a><\/p>\n

In the weeks ahead of the June 16 Democratic primary, Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Barack Obama, as well as former Democratic National Committee chairs Tom Perez and Jaime Harrison endorsed McDuffie. Neera Tanden, a prominent former Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton adviser, also backed him.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re citing fears that President Donald Trump would take over the city if progressive candidate Janeese Lewis George wins, something he has threatened to do.<\/p>\n

Yet, in Congress, the Democrats who have leverage over preserving D.C.\u2019s autonomy seem largely checked out of the mayoral fight, including several from the district\u2019s neighboring states.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m seeing all their ads, but I don\u2019t really know anything about it,\u201d said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.<\/p>\n

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland) is the only member of Congress to make an official endorsement in the race. She backed McDuffie out of personal connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know the other candidates in the race, but I do know Kenyan, and I\u2019ve had a longstanding relationship with him,\u201d she told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

The other Democratic senator from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, does not have plans to endorse in the race, his campaign told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

The Democratic primary for D.C.\u2019s mayorship is testing the party\u2019s approach to Trump. As national Democratic Party operatives argue that voters should elect McDuffie so the Trump administration does not have more reason to intervene with local affairs, Lewis George\u2019s camp says she\u2019s the kind of fighter D.C. needs to aggressively stand up to Trump.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, the race could also inform how a diverse, strongly Democratic electorate is feeling about hot button issues from immigration enforcement to housing to crime.<\/p>\n

But while some establishment voices are weighing in, national progressive leaders have been more muted, and most federal lawmakers haven\u2019t weighed in at all. Undoing D.C.\u2019s home rule, the law that gives D.C. autonomy over its local government, would take an act of Congress. Democrats in Congress don\u2019t sound that concerned.<\/p>\n

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said the Congressional Progressive Caucus was not endorsing in this race. Though, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), deputy chair of the caucus, said Lewis George would be her pick in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe it is really important for D.C. to elect a really strong mayor that will stand up to this administration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who both endorsed and campaigned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, told NOTUS that they did not have a favored candidate for D.C. mayor.<\/p>\n

One Democratic strategist who lives in D.C., granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said she\u2019s observed other national Democratic operatives to be uninformed and unsure who to vote for.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very aware, at a very personal level, of how insane that is for people whose jobs are all about informing voters,\u201d the strategist said. \u201cI think this election, like many local elections, is an example of basically the highest level Democratic operatives turning into uninformed voters when it comes to local races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political operatives who try to persuade undecided voters in swing districts across the country are now \u201cin their shoes in a very literal way,\u201d the strategist said.<\/p>\n

Read more DNI Tulsi Gabbard Ends Her Tenure Spreading a Bioweapons Conspiracy<\/a><\/p>\n

Strategists told NOTUS that the fractured media market in D.C. means they are not seeing as much coverage or reliable information about the race, leading to even the most politically engaged people tuning out of the race.<\/p>\n

Some specifically mentioned the layoffs in the local section of The Washington Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know how to reach my ANC rep,\u201d the strategist said. \u201cI could figure it out, but that\u2019s not a thing that I\u2019m used to, whereas, calling Congress, I\u2019ve had that muscle since 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Democratic operatives have tuned into the race late, said Ashley Schapitl, who worked for the Treasury Department under Biden and for Democrats in the House and Senate. She\u2019s also been a vocal proponent of McDuffie online.<\/p>\n

Schapitl, who also serves on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for Hill East, said that Trump and congressional Republicans\u2019 scrutiny of D.C. raises the stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important that people who work in national politics pay attention to the mayor\u2019s race, particularly because, as we\u2019ve seen, there are a lot of opportunities for congressional Republicans to try to make an example out of the district, and so the district being governed well is very important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not unusual for Democratic members of Congress to be tuned out of local D.C. politics \u2014 especially as part-time residents who serve constituents not impacted by D.C.\u2019s mayoral race.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t bother Sen. Ankit Jain, D.C.\u2019s shadow senator, who said he\u2019s fighting for Congress to have less involvement in D.C. affairs.<\/p>\n

Plus, D.C. isn\u2019t the same bellwether for the party that many made the mayoral races in New York City or Los Angeles to be, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere feels like maybe a little bit less urgency for the party as a whole around who wins between two most favored candidates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

D.C. may be no New York, but it is ground zero for the president\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

Trump has taken an outsized interest in reshaping the nation\u2019s capital. He continues to deploy National Guard troops to the city<\/u><\/span>. He has rid its Smithsonian museums of \u201cwoke\u201d ideology<\/u><\/span>. He orchestrated the mass firing of federal employees and continues to weaken their rights<\/u><\/span>. He\u2019s also undertaken several infrastructure projects like painting the reflecting pool blue<\/u><\/span> and coating horse statues in gold<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Among operatives, the strategist said concerns around D.C.\u2019s home rule was a strong motivating factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard individuals who are enthusiastic about Janeese,\u201d they said. \u201cI have not heard of a single individual in this group that is enthusiastic about Kenyan McDuffie, but a significant portion of this group is supporting him singularly because of this issue [home rule].\u201d<\/p>\n

Those concerns didn\u2019t seem to be reaching Democrats in Congress, however \u2014 at least not enough to start paying closer attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly don\u2019t,\u201d said Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Oregon) when asked if she had a favorite in the race. \u201cYour story probably raises a light that we probably should be more engaged in it. I just haven\u2019t really been following it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the best one wins,\u201d said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), chair of the New Democrat Coalition.<\/p>\n

Read more Workers Ready to Remove Trump\u2019s Name from the Kennedy Center<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI’m seeing all their ads, but I don’t really know anything about it,\u201d said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nCongressional Democrats Are Checked Out of D.C.\u2019s Mayoral Race - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=423\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congressional Democrats Are Checked Out of D.C.\u2019s Mayoral Race - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI'm seeing all their ads, but I don't really know anything about it,\u201d said Sen. 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