Analyzing Washington, DC’s primary results: most voters ranked 2+ candidates, and what RCV tells us about the electorate
The Washington, DC Board of Elections has released the cast vote record – an anonymized record of every ballot cast – from its first ranked choice voting (RCV) primary elections on June 16. Releasing the cast vote record is a best practice that most cities, counties, and states using RCV follow. Now that this ranking data is available, we can take a deeper dive into voter behavior.
Key findings include:
- In Washington, DC’s first use of ranked choice voting, a significant majority of voters ranked two or more candidates, matching national trends. This included:
- 64% of voters in the Democratic primary for mayor
- 75% of voters in the Democratic primary for at-large Council
- 80% of voters in the Democratic primary for Ward 1 Council
- 62% of voters in the Democratic primary for congressional delegate
- In the mayoral primary:
- Janeese Lewis George won with 54% of voters’ first choices. However, ranked choice voting gives us a more detailed picture of voter preferences; for example, 71% ranked Lewis George in their top three choices, and 75% ranked Lewis George somewhere on their ballot.
- Voters across all eight wards ranked two or more candidates at high rates. Voters in Wards 7 and 8 were most likely to use all five rankings.
- Across contests, voters who ranked a lower-performing candidate first were more likely to rank backup choices – an indicator that DC voters understand how ballots are counted.
- The data supports June polling showing that Washington, DC voters like and understand ranked choice voting – with 78% saying it was simple to complete their ballot, and 74% saying they like the ability to rank candidates.
- The data allows analysts to continue the RCV count until only two candidates remain. In the at-large and Ward primaries, these results show clear consensus support for Oye Owolewa and Aparna Raj, respectively.
On June 16, Washington, DC voters used ranked choice voting for the first time. 73% of DC voters voted to adopt RCV, as well as semi-open primaries, in a 2024 ballot measure.
RCV was implemented at a crucial moment – as Washingtonians voted in the District’s first open mayoral race in over a decade, several open Council races, and the first open congressional delegate race in over 30 years. With RCV, voters could navigate large, crowded fields without risking “wasting” their vote on a less viable candidate.
Most voters ranked two or more choices
In the mayoral primary, 64% of voters ranked multiple candidates. In other highly competitive races, more voters ranked.
Voter ranking behavior by contest
| Contest | Number of candidates | Average number of candidates ranked | % who ranked multiple candidates |
| Mayor (Democratic primary) | 7 | 2.6 | 64% |
| At-large Council (Democratic primary) | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| At-large Council (special election) | 3 | 2.1 | 61% |
| Delegate to Congress (Democratic primary) | 5 | 2.6 | 62% |
| Ward 1 Council (Democratic primary) | 5 | 2.9 | 80% |
| Ward 5 Council (Democratic primary) | 3 | 1.8 | 46% |
| Ward 6 Council (Democratic primary) | 3 | 1.8 | 45% |
In the two contests with the most active RCV campaigning – at-large Council and Ward 1 Council – more voters ranked. Whereas the mayoral and congressional delegate primaries had two clear frontrunners, the at-large Council and Ward 1 contests did not. Both races featured candidate cross-endorsements, and a range of campaign material encouraging voters to rank multiple candidates.
Across all of these contests, voters who ranked a lower-performing candidate first were more likely to rank backup choices – a sign that they understood how ballots are counted. In the mayoral primary, for example, 62% of voters for frontrunners Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George ranked 2+ candidates, while 80% of other voters did.
In the congressional delegate primary, Ward 1 primary, at-large Council primary, and at-large special races, voters who supported frontrunners were among the least likely to rank multiple candidates.
Ranking behavior, voters for frontrunners vs. other candidates
| Contest | Frontrunner candidates | Voters for frontrunners who ranked 2+ choices | Voters for other candidates who ranked 2+ choices |
| Mayor (Democratic primary) | Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie | 62% | 80% |
| Delegate to US House (Democratic primary) | Robert White and Brooke Pinto | 61% | 83% |
| At-large Council (Democratic primary) | Oye Owolewa | 69% | 79% |
| At-large Council (special election) | Elissa Silverman | 53% | 68% |
| Ward 1 Council (Democratic primary) | Aparna Raj | 77% | 80% |
Rankings used by first-choice candidate, Democratic mayoral primary
| First choice | Mean rankings used | % ranked 2+ | % ranked one |
| Any candidate | 2.6 | 64% | 36% |
| Ernest E. Johnson | 3.5 | 79% | 21% |
| Gary Goodweather | 3.2 | 87% | 13% |
| Hope Solomon | 3.4 | 83% | 17% |
| Janeese Lewis George | 2.5 | 60% | 40% |
| Kenyan R. McDuffie | 2.6 | 64% | 36% |
| Rini Sampath | 3.3 | 93% | 7% |
| Vincent Orange (“VO”) | 3.1 | 71% | 29% |
| Write-in | 2.8 | 67% | 33% |
Voters across the District used rankings, with the highest use east of the Anacostia River
Voters across DC’s eight wards were all likely to rank multiple candidates for mayor (ranging from 61% in Ward 1 to 67% in Wards 2, 6, and 8). Voters in Wards 7 and 8 were most likely to use all five rankings.
| Ranked 1 | Ranked 2 | Ranked 3 | Ranked 4 | Ranked 5 | |
| Ward 1 | 39% | 22% | 14% | 6% | 19% |
| Ward 2 | 33% | 22% | 16% | 7% | 21% |
| Ward 3 | 36% | 24% | 15% | 6% | 18% |
| Ward 4 | 38% | 20% | 13% | 5% | 23% |
| Ward 5 | 35% | 20% | 13% | 5% | 26% |
| Ward 6 | 33% | 24% | 15% | 7% | 22% |
| Ward 7 | 34% | 16% | 12% | 5% | 33% |
| Ward 8 | 33% | 15% | 11% | 5% | 34% |
| Districtwide total | 36% | 21% | 14% | 6% | 24% |
Mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George has strong consensus
The vast majority of DC voters weighed in between the two frontrunners for mayor, Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie.
Additionally, winners of RCV races tend to be ranked highly on many ballots, even beyond the majority needed to be elected. The cast vote record data shows how many voters ranked each candidate on their ballots – a robust measure of voter consensus.
A majority of 54% of voters ranked Lewis George first. 71% ranked her in their top three choices, and 75% of voters ranked her somewhere on their ballots.
Consensus support for mayoral candidates in top three and top five rankings
| Ranked first | Ranked in top three | Ranked in top five | |
| Janeese Lewis George | 54% | 71% | 75% |
| Kenyan R. McDuffie | 35% | 56% | 60% |
| Rini Sampath | 3% | 21% | 30% |
| Gary Goodweather | 3% | 21% | 29% |
| Vincent Orange (“VO”) | 3% | 19% | 27% |
| Hope Solomon | 1% | 11% | 22% |
| Ernest E. Johnson | 1% | 7% | 16% |
Despite a contentious campaign, a sizable number of Lewis George and McDuffie voters ranked the other on their ballots – 38% of Lewis George voters ranked McDuffie, while 42% of McDuffie voters ranked Lewis George.
Voters for other candidates were more likely to rank backup choices – with most Rini Sampath voters preferring Lewis George and a split among voters ranking Gary Goodweather, Vincent Orange, Hope Solomon, and Ernest Johnson first.
The impact of cross-endorsements
Three different contests each had a set of candidates who cross-endorsed each other. Cross-endorsements are a powerful example of how RCV can make campaigns more positive – encouraging candidates to show common ground with their opponents instead of just going on the attack.
There is mixed evidence regarding the cross-endorsements’ impacts on DC voter behavior this election cycle.
At-large Council
Candidates Lisa Raymond, Greg Jackson, and Candace Tiana Nelson urged voters to rank all three.
There was significantly more crossover between Raymond and Jackson voters, whose cross-endorsement included campaign mailers asking voters to rank both Raymond and Jackson. Raymond was the most popular second choice for Jackson voters; Jackson was the second-most popular second choice for Raymond voters.
| First choice | Ranked Candace Tiana Nelson second | Ranked Dwight Davis second | Ranked Dyana N. M. Forester second | Ranked Fred Hill second | Ranked Greg Jackson second | Ranked Kevin B Chavous second | Ranked Leniqua’dominique Jenkins second | Ranked Lisa Raymond second | Ranked Oye Owolewa second | No second choice |
| Candace Tiana Nelson | 9% | 10% | 4% | 9% | 8% | 11% | 12% | 22% | 16% | |
| Dwight Davis | 17% | 6% | 7% | 10% | 10% | 5% | 9% | 14% | 21% | |
| Dyana N. M. Forester | 12% | 8% | 2% | 9% | 10% | 7% | 10% | 28% | 14% | |
| Fred Hill | 5% | 6% | 3% | 12% | 12% | 2% | 21% | 14% | 25% | |
| Greg Jackson | 8% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 13% | 3% | 23% | 19% | 19% | |
| Kevin B Chavous | 6% | 8% | 4% | 6% | 13% | 2% | 11% | 19% | 31% | |
| Leniqua’dominique Jenkins | 21% | 6% | 9% | 3% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 23% | 19% | |
| Lisa Raymond | 10% | 4% | 3% | 8% | 20% | 10% | 2% | 21% | 22% | |
| Oye Owolewa | 12% | 4% | 11% | 3% | 9% | 10% | 4% | 15% | 31% |
At-large Council special election
Doni Crawford and Jacque Patterson encouraged voters to rank them both. Each was the most common second choice for voters who preferred the other.
| First choice | Ranked Doni Crawford second | Ranked Elissa Silverman second | Ranked Jacque D. Patterson second | No second choice |
| Doni Crawford | 31% | 40% | 29% | |
| Elissa Silverman | 25% | 27% | 47% | |
| Jacque D. Patterson | 37% | 34% | 28% |
Ward 1 Council
Miguel Trindade Deramo and Rashida Brown cross-endorsed each other. Brown voters slightly preferred Aparna Raj (32%) to Rashida Brown (30%) as their second choice. Trindade Deramo voters were similarly split between Brown (35%) and Raj (33%).
| First choice | Ranked Aparna Raj second | Ranked Jackie Reyes Yanes second | Ranked Miguel Trindade Deramo second | Ranked Rashida Brown second | Ranked Terry Lynch second | No second choice |
| Aparna Raj | 7% | 27% | 40% | 3% | 23% | |
| Jackie Reyes Yanes | 18% | 24% | 19% | 13% | 24% | |
| Miguel Trindade Deramo | 33% | 11% | 35% | 8% | 12% | |
| Rashida Brown | 32% | 13% | 30% | 7% | 18% | |
| Terry Lynch | 15% | 22% | 22% | 16% | 25% |
RCV data gives us more information on voter preferences
The official results published by the DC Board of Elections show which candidate wins a majority in each race’s RCV count – but they do not run the RCV tally to the final two candidates.
The cast vote record data allows us to keep eliminating candidates until there are only two left, just like a traditional runoff election. This provides more information about voter preferences, and how winning candidates would fare head to head against their strongest opponents.
For example, in the at-large DC Council race, the official results show Oye Owolewa winning with 51% over Lisa Raymond (28%) and Kevin Chavous (21%). But after eliminating Chavous and transferring those ballots, Owolewa has a much larger margin: 64%-36%.
Round-by-round results for at-large Council
Similarly, the winners in the special election for at-large DC Council and Ward 1 Council grow their margins if the tally is run down to the final two candidates – a sign of the breadth of their support in the primary.
