If you drove past the corner of Foxhall and Reservoir roads Wednesday afternoon, and saw a fresh-faced white guy waving and blowing kisses, you would have been witnessing the high point of Republican politics in the nation’s capital. And also the nadir of the local GOP — perhaps its extinction.
The waving politician was Patrick Mara, who knocked off Carol Schwartz in Tuesday’s D.C. Council primary election. Mara came here 11 years ago to work as a Capitol Hill aide, recently got involved in D.C. politics and decided to challenge the pol known around town as Carol.
Let’s be clear: Carol Schwartz may be the only Republican who could get elected to anything in D.C. Washingtonians loved Carol and voted for her for decades because she connected with blacks and whites and gays and residents — rich and poor — in all eight wards. A character in a town of empty suits, she was the cigarette-smoking woman (until she quit) who lit up a room, talked with a deep, throaty voice and was not afraid to challenge the rich and powerful, who made her pay by backing Mara. She was a Republican in name only.
Mara’s waving at cars on Foxhall Road was a perfect metaphor for his political peril. The corner is deep in Caucasia, the heart of all-white Washington, where most of the 38,456 registered Republicans dwell. The 300,000 registered Democrats live all over town. To win in November’s general election, Mara will have to appeal to those Democrats, most of whom reside east of Rock Creek Park.
Consider that the most emphatic victory on Tuesday came in Ward 8, the poorest and most African American ward, which re-elected Marion Barry to the council with 77 percent of the vote. No way Marion’s voters will go for Mara.
But Patrick Mara’s victory does set the stage for a political brawl between now and November, if the monied businessmen who backed his primary victory stay in the game. They raised more than $110,000 for Mara and created a top-flight political organization in two months. Bypassing the inept local GOP, they attracted volunteers, sent out mailings and manned polling booths.
By charter, two of the council’s at-large members must be from a party other than the Democrats. Mara will face serious challenges in November from two Democrats running as independents: Michael Brown and Dee Hunter, both African Americans better known to the D.C. electorate.
Brown, a lobbyist, ran in the mayoral primary against Adrian Fenty but dropped out under a hail of bad press. Turns out Brown — son of the legendary Democratic leader Ron Brown — had left a trail of unflattering financial dealings, which came out during the campaign.
Mara’s team is likely to go negative from the gate to point out Brown’s liabilities. If so, expect Brown to play the race card in ways we haven’t seen since Marion Barry was mayor.
Mara wins if the mud sticks on Brown and Dee Hunter dilutes the black vote. Otherwise, Mara loses, and the GOP in D.C. becomes the DOP, for Dead Old Party.
