Marie Johns, the polls say, is running a distant third in the D.C. mayor’s race, well behind front-runners Adrian Fenty and Linda Cropp.
But don’t tell the former Verizon executive or her supporters that this is a two-person race.
“When she gets an opportunity to talk to people, when they hear her, then they’re sold,” said John Goodman, a Johns supporter from Ward 3, during a Sunday event in Ward 8.
On Sunday, a few hundred of Johns’ backers from across the city assembled at Highview Park in Congress Heights to “round up” support, register voters and gear up for one more month of campaigning prior to the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.
On a hot, sunny day, Johns pulled out all the stops: T-shirts and cowboy hats, a half-dozen ponies, barbecue, hay rides and a disc jockey.
Johns, 54, arrived to a rousing welcome after spending much of her day in church. The polls might have her in the single digits, but the candidate said her push is having an impact.
“I’ve tried in every way to be very touchable, approachable and front-line, because that’s what I think people are yearning for,” Johns said.
Former District first lady Cora Masters Barry, a key Johns supporter, said thelast month is when Johns’ campaign will explode into the public’s consciousness.
“I characterize this as bottling the excitement and energy that has built up, and the dispersion of it for that final great push,” Barry said. “It’s really kind of underground, bubbling to the surface.”
