On Sept. 12, District Democrats will select their nominees for mayor, D.C. Council chairman and five ward council members. Perhaps the most important primary election since Home Rule looms in 85 days, but nobody appears to be paying attention.
Most polls, those produced by the campaigns and those commissioned independently, show a great number of undecided voters. In several races, the numbers of people who can’t say who they support outnumber those who can.
“I think in this particular case, the candidates have been uninspiring,” said Jonetta Rose Barras, local political analyst and Examiner columnist. “[Voters are] not turning their attention to it because the candidates haven’t made them turn their attention.”
In general elections, there’s plenty of time for candidates to ramp up their campaigns once summer vacations end. But in D.C., the primary is most important, as 73.6 percent of voters are registered Democrats.
Yet political observers say the candidates have yet to distinguish themselves, pull away in a tight race or knock the legs out from under a front-runner. That will require a “risk-taker and those are very few and far between in the American political scene,” said Bernard Ross, professor of public administration at American University.
“You can’t just sit back waiting for something big to come.”
Beside the mayor’s office, up for grabs in September is the chairman’s seat, one at-large seat and Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6. The four ward races feature 33 Democratic candidates, though that number may dwindle in July when nominating petitions come due.
In the mayor’s race, Council Member Adrian Fenty and Council Chairman Linda Cropp are running neck and neck. Both have raised more than $1.7 million, ensuring the most expensive campaign in local Washington history. The three other contenders, Marie Johns, Vincent Orange and Michael Brown, poll in the single digits, though few people are ready to rule out one — notably Johns — as a dark horse.
In the at-large race, a recent poll of 400 likely Democratic voters commissioned by the Foggy Bottom Association gave a 13-point edge to Council Member Phil Mendelson, but found 53 percent undecided. Mendelson has been quiet on the campaign trail and has spent only $16,000 since launching his re-election bid, while opponent A. Scott Bolden has outraised and outspent the incumbent many times over.
In the contest for chairman, Council Members Kathy Patterson and Vincent Gray have raised a combined $380,000, and polls indicate the two are virtually tied. The Foggy Bottom survey found race to be a factor: Patterson held a 35-point advantage with white voters, while Gray found a 17-point lead among blacks.
Fun fundraising facts
» In Ward 3, Bill Rice raised more than $72,000 since launching his campaign in April.
» In Ward 5, the campaign of Raenelle Zapata, the District’s former rent administrator, is $5,388 in debt.
» In Ward 6, Tommy Wells is the only ward candidate to raise more than $100,000.
