Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and Democratic socialist, won the Washington, D.C., mayoral race on Tuesday, taking nearly 85% of the ranked-choice vote against Green Party candidate Robert Gross and independent Rhonda Hamilton, according to the D.C. Board of Elections.
Lewis George, 38, will succeed outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser, who took office in 2015 and announced last year she would not seek re-election.
In comments to FOX 5 DC, Lewis George said she is prepared to cooperate with the Trump administration when it benefits D.C. residents, but also to oppose it when necessary.
“The people of D.C. elect the mayor of D.C., and I am willing to work with this administration to the benefit of D.C. residents,” Lewis George said. “And I’m also willing to stand up to this administration when it comes to doing just that.”
She said one of her early priorities will be a forensic review of every District agency.
“One of the things we’re going to do early in my administration is a forensic analysis of every District agency, making sure we’re taking account of savings and spending, and also fraud and abuse and mishandling,” she said. “Those are ways that we, as a District government, can improve and make sure that District taxpayers trust us with their dollars.”
Bowser congratulated her successor in a post on X Wednesday morning.
“Good morning DC. This is what the other side looks like,” Bowser wrote. “We promised to get here with our Home Rule intact and electing our next leaders. Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Janeese Lewis George. I’ll run through the tape and support a seamless transition. I love you, DC.”
Lewis George joins a growing group of Democratic socialist mayors nationwide, including Zohran Mamdani of New York City, Katie Wilson of Seattle and Mayor-elect David Morales of Providence, Rhode Island.
“Washington DC, thank you for trusting this Daughter of the District to lead us!” Lewis George wrote on X after her win.
Earlier this year, she told The Associated Press she intends to address what she called “the affordability crisis here in D.C., which the Trump administration has only made worse by unjustly firing federal employees en masse and militarizing our streets.”
Trump’s Reaction
President Trump has been openly critical of Lewis George. After her primary win in June, he wrote on Truth Social that he would not allow candidates like her to “destroy” the city, calling her a “Communist” and accusing her of wanting to empty prisons, make D.C. a sanctuary city, oppose ICE, defund police and expand cashless bail.
“In the end, it will never work out, nor will I let it even have a chance because I have worked too hard to make Washington, D.C., the Envy of the World, with almost No Crime, and a Beautification process that has been second to none,” Trump wrote. “I will meet with Janeese Lewis George, but must forewarn everyone that Washington, D.C., is again a Safe and Prestigious Community.”
He added that he and others had worked hard to get the city to that point and would not let it be “destroyed by a Communist adherent who has no intention to, MAKE WASHINGTON GREAT AGAIN!”
