Washington, D.C., Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George played the political fundraising game so well in her mayoral campaign’s opening days that the district’s campaign finance system couldn’t handle it.
Given the “unprecedented size” of her initial fundraising filing, Lewis George’s campaign needed to split up their filings because the campaign website couldn’t accept the large report. The councilwoman’s campaign said that they spent “dozens of hours” manually uploading thousands of donor records because of the website’s error. They will later upload an amended report to include more donors.
The socialist has been a prolific fundraiser in the opening days of her campaign, backed by a well of D.C. grassroots support and the city’s matching funds system. She broke the record for qualifying for the city’s public financing system in just a few hours. Mayor Muriel Bowser set the record in 2022, but it took her two weeks.
The new report showed the campaign drew $188,591 from D.C. residents in its first 10 days, with 2,567 unique district donors. D.C.’s 5-to-1 match will give Lewis George nearly $1 million in matching funds, on top of $30,000 in outside contributions and an $80,000 grant.
All the raised funds bring Lewis George’s fundraising total to around $1.2 million. Her early fundraising efforts have placed her at the forefront of the D.C. mayoral race before any other major competitors have waded in.
The Ward 4 councilwoman, whose campaign prides itself on leading the “charge on lowering housing costs and raising wages for working people,” celebrated the fundraising achievement. “I’m deeply touched by the outpouring of support that our campaign has received,” she said in a statement.
“This people-first campaign is powered by all 8 wards, and this achievement belongs to all of us because it took each and every one of us. These numbers are a reflection of the strength and dedication of our movement. It’s also a reflection of this moment. Change is necessary. We are just getting started. THANK YOU, DC!” she added.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a Lewis George campaign staffer attributed the councilwoman’s fundraising prowess to her grassroots movement, not any social media or technology cog.
“How the campaign was able to pull this off was because hundreds of people were talking to their neighbors, or talking to their family friends, their family members, their friends, or their colleagues,” the staffer said. “People were talking to each other and telling them, ‘Hey, like, this is important. This needs, like, we need to change things.’”
The staffer added that hundreds of volunteers swayed residents to the councilwoman’s campaign, and that residents were unhappy with the “status quo.”
For now, Lewis George is alone in the mayoral race. But fellow Councilman Kenyan McDuffie is considering a run, adding a challenger who could be favored by Bowser to the mix.
“For me, it’s a similar thought process for every election I’ve ever run in the District of Columbia, where it starts with my family, having a conversation with my wife and my two daughters, my extended family, my political advisers,” McDuffie said last month. “But it also is listening to residents. I have been approached by residents across the District of Columbia, from labor leaders to people in the business community to people in the faith community who’ve been encouraging me to really give serious thought to running for mayor.”
But for McDuffie to run, he would have to resign his seat as an at-large councilman and change his party affiliation to be a Democrat. He cannot hold his seat as a member of the Democratic Party.
If he decides on a run, he’ll face Lewis George, who wants to capitalize on recent socialist momentum following New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win in November. She’s reportedly trying to model her campaign off the New York socialist’s campaign, and she’s matching his fundraising prowess so far.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE FOR DC MAYOR BEATS RECORD TO MEET DONATION REQUIREMENTS
The Lewis George staffer told the Washington Examiner that while the D.C. socialist is not Mamdani, who shares the same base, their respective movements share the same “undertones” based on the affordability crisis.
“We’re building right now, and we’re welcoming people and trying to get as many people [as possible] to hear her message for the vision of D.C.,” the staffer said. “People are inspired by what she is saying and her vision for D.C., her people-first vision, and her people-first values. And I think that what is being demonstrated in the fundraising numbers.”
