D.C. Council Member Adrian Fenty’s overwhelming win in the mayoral Democratic primary cut across all wards, all precincts and all demographics — an utterly dominating performance that’s left even his campaign in awe.
“It’s unheard of, never been done before,” Alec Evans, Fenty’s campaign manager, said of the candidate’s win in all 142 precincts.
Linda Cropp, the D.C. Council chair who had the backing of Mayor Anthony Williams, was so handily defeated that she lost even her own precinct by a 2-to-1 margin. Marie Johns, the former Verizon executive whose candidacy perhaps cut into Cropp’s base, managed to win nearly 8,000 votes, but Cropp would still have likely lost had Johns, and everyone else, dropped out.
Fenty, 35, prevailed over Cropp, the 26-year public servant, by 26,368 votes. He won the vast majority of precincts by at least 10 points, some by many more, and won every ward by more than 15 points.
“I don’t think he has a base of support,” said Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham. “It’s far too broad to describe it as a base.”
Prior to the election, it was generally believed that Fenty had the strong support of younger voters, couples with children in the public schools and newer residents. Cropp was thought to have a lead among older voters, and her campaign at least expected to run close in wealthier areas that benefited most from Williams’ economic development policies.
But the end result offered few clear trends, though it did provide the Democratic nominee with a clear mandate — assuming he wins the Nov. 7 general election over Republican David Kranich and Statehood Green Chris Otten.
While Williams won his first term in 1998 on the support of voters in Wards 2 and3, one advantage of Fenty’s overwhelming victory, observers say, is that he will not be beholden to a single area of town. He ran up incredible numbers virtually everywhere.
“I think Adrian has a base that is citywide,” said Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans, who backed Cropp. “He has a mandate to do what he wants to do and he should do it. Get out of the box fast and furious.”
Fenty’s victory was most evident in Ward 4, where he lives, and Ward 1, where he was raised. He won Ward 4 by 8,400 votes, carrying nearly 69 percent of all votes cast. In Ward 1, he won with 61.8 percent.
“That was always our base and we always owned it,” Evans said.
Election factoids
» In Cropp’s home precinct, No. 47, Fenty won 62.22 percent to the council chairman’s 30.75 percent.
» Fenty’s narrowest margin of victory in a ward was Ward 7, where he won by 15.95 percentage points.
» In precinct 142 on the Southwest Waterfront, Fenty won by his narrowest margin, 44.12 percent to Cropp’s 42.13 percent.
» Vincent Orange, the Ward 5 D.C. Council member, managed only 1,171 votes in his home ward, or 7.89 percent of the votes cast.
» Marie Johns certainly hurt Cropp’s numbers in Wards 2 and 3, where Cropp should have been strongest. Johns won 11.67 percent in Ward 2 and 15.82 percent in Ward 3.
