Janeese Lewis George holds a narrow lead over Kenyan McDuffie in Washington, D.C.’s crowded Democratic mayoral primary, according to a new poll released just weeks before the election.
A City Cast DC survey found Lewis George leading McDuffie 39% to 34% among Democratic voters, while no other candidate in the seven-person field surpassed 7% support. Nearly a quarter of voters remain undecided.
The June 16 race marks the district’s first open mayoral contest in more than a decade. Current Mayor Muriel Bowser is set to leave office when her fourth term ends in January 2027.
The matchup has emerged as a battle between competing visions for the district’s Democratic Party. Lewis George has embraced a more progressive, left-wing message and drawn comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while McDuffie has cast himself as a centrist Democrat closely aligned with Bowser.
But the poll suggests the race could tighten considerably once ranked choice voting comes into play.
McDuffie holds a substantial edge in second-choice support among voters backing other candidates, leading Lewis George 27% to 15%.
Under the district’s ranked choice system, voters’ backup selections are redistributed if no candidate wins an outright majority in the first round.
The survey also revealed generational divides among D.C. Democratic voters. Lewis George dominates among younger voters, leading by 24 points among Generation Z voters and 19 points with millennials. McDuffie, meanwhile, leads by 27 points among baby boomers and older voters. Voters under 46 back Lewis George by a 54% to 26% margin, while voters over 46 favor McDuffie 52% to 30%.
The poll also highlighted the issues shaping the race. More than 70% of voters said cost of living, housing, and public safety are “very important” concerns for the city’s next mayor, while fewer voters prioritized opposition to President Donald Trump.
DC RESTAURANT GROUP WADES INTO MAYORAL ELECTION AGAINST MAMDANI-STYLE JANEESE LEWIS GEORGE
Public safety, in particular, appears to be a political strength for McDuffie. The poll found 72% of voters support youth curfews, a policy McDuffie backs and Lewis George opposes. Among voters who favor curfews, McDuffie leads by 12 points, though nearly half of Lewis George’s supporters also support the policy.
The City Cast DC poll surveyed 735 district residents, including 487 registered Democrats, between May 12 and May 17. The poll carried a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points for the full sample and 4.7 points for Democratic voters.