District of Columbia Councilwoman Christina Henderson said Tuesday that she is rejoining the Democratic Party, shedding her independent status in a move that sets her up to replace outgoing Councilman Robert White in the chamber.

White, a Democratic at-large councilman, resigned from his seat Monday to mount a new bid to replace retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in the House of Representatives. The development comes as Henderson, also an at-large councilwoman, has been rumored to be eyeing a chance to fill the vacancy by becoming a Democrat, upending district power dynamics by thwarting the local party’s power to appoint an interim Democratic replacement in his stead.

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