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Gray, Bowser believed to be in close race as D.C. voters choose Democratic mayoral nominee Gray, Bowser believed to be in close race as D.C. voters choose Democratic mayoral nominee
(about 2 hours later)
District voters headed to the polls Tuesday in modest numbers and with muted enthusiasm at the culmination of the tightest Democratic mayoral primary contest in a quarter century. District voters went to the polls Tuesday in modest numbers and with muted enthusiasm as the Democratic mayoral primary culminated in uncertainty.
After two weeks of weather-dampened early voting in a contest that has generated little excitement, primary election day for incumbent Vincent C. Gray (D), top challenger D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and the other candidates appeared to be one of low turnout and mixed minds. After weeks of weather-dampened campaigning, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and his top challenger, D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (Ward 4) , made a last dash across the city, rallying supporters and visiting polling places.
Voters had more pleasant weather Tuesday to make their decisions, but less conviction in a contest that could be closer than any District mayoral race since 1990. But voters seemed less than excited about their choices in a race that is shaping up to be closer than any mayoral election since 1990.
In every modern election in the heavily Democratic District, the winner of the primary has gone on to be mayor. The Democratic nominee will face council member David Catania (I) in the general election. “There wasn’t anyone I was really enthusiastic about,” said Barbara White, a 77-year-old former editor, who said her vote was still in doubt before she entered a polling place in a Shepherd Park Elementary School.
“There wasn’t anyone I was really enthusiastic about,” said Barbara White, a 77-year-old former editor, who said her vote was still in doubt before she entered a polling place in a Shepherd Park elementary school. White ended up voting for D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (Ward 6), who along with Bowser was among seven candidates challenging Gray. The other candidates on the ballot were Council members Jack Evans (Ward 2) and Vincent Orange (At Large), restaurateur Andy Shallal, former state department official Reta Jo Lewis and musician Carlos Lewis.
She said she voted for candidate Tommy Wells, a council member running third, behind Gray and Bowser, in the pre-primary polls.
(Live Updates: D.C. Primary Election)(Live Updates: D.C. Primary Election)
After leading by double digits in polls early in the year, Gray’s ability to keep voters focused on his stewardship of the city’s growing economy was shaken in early March when a major campaign donor pleaded guilty to illicit spending on behalf of Gray’s first mayoral bid four years ago. Gray has denied any wrongdoing. A Democratic stronghold, the District’s mayoral contests typically end with the Democratic primary. This year, however, the Democratic nominee will face Council member David Catania (I-At Large) in the general election.
“There’s been a lot of dirt dug up on him, but nothing’s been able to stick,” Debra Knight-Harvin, 52, said Tuesday at a polling place in the former Bertie Backus Middle School, in northeast Washington. After leading by double digits in polls early in the year, Gray’s ability to keep voters focused on his stewardship of the city’s growing economy was shaken in early March when businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson pleaded guilty to illicit campaign funding, including on behalf of Gray’s 2010 campaign. Gray has denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Thompson.
Long shot candidate restaurateur Andy Shallal said he believed the race had been marred by “distractions.” “There’s been a lot of dirt dug up on him, but nothing’s been able to stick,” Debra Knight-Harvin, 52, said Tuesday at a polling place in the former Bertie Backus Middle School in Northeast Washington.
“It’s been difficult for people because attention has been taken away from the real issues,” Shallal said. “People are voting against something as opposed as for something.” A bitter contest since Gray announced he would seek reelection in December, the campaign was rife with tension Tuesday morning as both the mayor and Bowser traveled to the same polling place in Bowser’s ward, where supporters from both sides shouted at each other.
But the candidates were undeterred. “We’re confident that the residents are frustrated with much of Mayor Gray’s office and they are going to come out to vote,” said Bowser, dressed in a blue suit and a green scarf, as she stood outside La Salle Elelmentary School on Riggs Road in Northeast.
Bowser, wearing a blue suit and green scarf, began her day with a 5:30 a.m. rally on South Capitol street, SE, and then cast her ballot around 7 a.m. at La Salle Elementary School, on Riggs Road, in Northeast Washington. Gray, arriving about 20 minutes after Bowser had departed, slipped one of his campaign’s blue T-shirts on over his dress shirt and danced in front of supporters to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
“We’re confident that the residents are frustrated with much of mayor Gray’s office and they are going to come out to vote,” said Bowser. “We’ve gotten people back to work,” Gray told reporters, noting that the unemployment rate had dropped by four percentage points since he took office and saying that he helped guide the opening of new Wal-Marts in the District. “We’ve brought fiscal stability back to the city.”
Gray won Ward 4 in the 2010 election over then-mayor Adrian Fenty. But Bowser noted that voters in the area had chosen her to be council member three times. As the candidates sought to rally supporters, their campaigns dispatched armies of volunteers and paid workers to turn out the vote.
“We feel strong in Ward 4,” Bowser said. Bowser’s forces assembled at a parking lot near the National’s Stadium, where dozens of newly hired canvassers — many responding to Craigslist ads that promised $100 for the day — were loaded into more than 50 vans and dispatched to neighborhoods to knock on prospective voters’ doors.
Gray arrived about 20 minutes after Bowser had departed to visit other polling precincts, averting what could have been a tense encounter between the top candidates. The canvassers planned to make three rounds of stops at homes already visited over the weekend by Bowser campaign workers, hoping to push them to the polls.
Supporters outside LaSalle engaged in dueling chants before the candidates arrived, shouting “four more years,” to cheer on Gray voters, while Bowser’s fans yelled “all eight wards,” a nod to her promise to address issues of all constituents in the city. Gray’s campaign dispatched nearly two dozen 50-seat buses to transport voters to polls, and it also sent staffers and volunteers to apartment buildings, senior citizen centers, Metro stations and shopping centers.
Gray, wearing a blue campaign T-shirt over a button-down dress shirt, danced to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams in front of supporters. Asked in the late afternoon how the results would turn out for the mayor, Chuck Thies, his campaign manager, said, “It’s a coin flip.”
“We’ve gotten people back to work,” Gray told reporters, noting that the unemployment rate had dropped by 4 percentage points since he took office and saying that he helped guide the opening of new Wal-Marts in the District. “We’ve brought fiscal stability back to the city.” Earlier, Gray stood outside St. Timothy Episcopal Church on Alabama Avenue in Southeast Washington, in a precinct where four years ago, a crush of nearly 1,500 voters sided with him by a margin of more than 4-to-1.
Cheryl Robinson, the precinct polling captain at LaSalle, said that 107 voters had come through by 9:15 a.m. Robinson said that fewer people had voted so far Tuesday morning than at the same time during the last mayoral election. The sun was shining, an SUV with his blue campaign signs sat idling across the street, blaring The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.”
Gray and Bowser went on to crisscross the city for the rest of the day.
Later, Gray stood outside St. Timothy Episcopal Church on Alabama Ave. in Southeast Washington, in a precinct where four years ago, a crush of nearly 1,500 voters sided with him by a margin of more than 4 to 1.
The sun was shining, an SUV with his blue campaign signs sat idling across the street, blaring The Jackson 5’s “I want you back.”
There was just one problem. The sidewalk was empty. As in other campaign stops of the day, Gray and his traveling band of supporters far outnumbered voters.There was just one problem. The sidewalk was empty. As in other campaign stops of the day, Gray and his traveling band of supporters far outnumbered voters.
From a field of seven challengers that includes three other council members, Bowser had emerged as Gray’s main competitor. In a recent Washington Post poll, the two were locked in a statistical dead heat. Wells, meanwhile, appeared at Capitol Hill’s historic Eastern Market a little before 10 a.m. to cast his vote.
Wells, meanwhile, appeared at Capitol Hill’s historic Eastern Market a little before 10 a.m. to cast his vote.
“We’ll just have to see (the results) at the end of the day,” he said. “It’s a pretty day,” so weather shouldn’t keep anyone away.“We’ll just have to see (the results) at the end of the day,” he said. “It’s a pretty day,” so weather shouldn’t keep anyone away.
If turnout is low, he said, it will be because the council kept the primary on April 1 rather than delaying it until June, as he had favored. “It’s the incumbent-protection plan,” he said of the April date.If turnout is low, he said, it will be because the council kept the primary on April 1 rather than delaying it until June, as he had favored. “It’s the incumbent-protection plan,” he said of the April date.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., at the usually busy polling place at Shepherd Park Elementary School, voting was sluggish. Shortly after 10:30 a.m., at the usually busy polling place at Shepherd Park Elementary School, voting was sluggish. The school, in one of the highest-voting precincts in high-turnout Ward 4, is typically hopping on Election Day. But it wasn’t so late Tuesday morning, where only a handful of voters moseyed in and out over a half-hour period.
The school, in one of the highest-voting precincts in high-voting Ward 4, is typically hopping on Election Day. Not so late on Tuesday morning, where only a handful of voters moseyed in and out over a half-hour period. After the morning rush had subsided, only 295 voters had cast ballots at the precinct, which saw 1,822 Democrats vote in 2010. (Another 268 voted there early this year.)
After the morning rush had subsided, only 295 voters had cast ballots at a precinct that saw 1,822 Democrats vote in 2010. (Another 268 voted early this year.) Gray won 63 percent of the vote in this bellwether precinct in 2010, upending incumbent Adrian Fenty in his home ward. But many of the voters trickling out of the school’s gymnasium said they were ready to go in another direction.
Gray won 63 percent of the vote in this bellwether precinct in 2010, upending incumbent Adrian Fenty in his home ward. Phyllis Caudle-Green, 59, said she voted for Gray over Fenty four years ago but was instead supporting Bowser this time.
But many of the voters trickling out of the school’s gymnasium said they were ready to go in another direction. Bowser, she said, struck her as “capable and competent” and represented a rare opportunity to put a black woman in the city’s top office. “We’re at a crossroads,” the retired investment banker said. “I just think it’s time to go in a new direction.”
Phyllis Caudle-Green, 59, said she voted for Gray over Fenty four years ago but was instead supporting Muriel Bowser this time.
Bowser, she said, struck her as “capable and competent” and represented a rare opportunity to put a black woman in the city’s top office.
“We’re at a crossroads,” the retired investment banker said. “I just think it’s time to go in a new direction.”
Caudle-Green said she settled on Bowser only in recent weeks, after new corruption allegations were aired against Gray.Caudle-Green said she settled on Bowser only in recent weeks, after new corruption allegations were aired against Gray.
“I don’t necessarily think the mayor is guilty,” she said. “I just don’t think we need that distraction.”“I don’t necessarily think the mayor is guilty,” she said. “I just don’t think we need that distraction.”
Had prosecutors not alleged Gray knew of secret spending on behalf of his 2010 campaign, she said, “I think I would have stayed the course with him.” But Hugo Word, an 82-year-old former patent examiner, said he was sticking with Gray, because his experience and good performance as mayor outweighed the accusations against him. “He knows the system,” Word said. “He’s moving the District forward.”
Hattie Dorman, an 82-year-old federal retiree, said she also settled on Bowser, saying she was impressed by Bowser’s work as council member -- including helping her resolve a property tax discrepancy.
“I though initially it might be too early for Muriel,” she said. But the corruption allegations, she added, prompted her to take a chance. “I figure he had to know something,” she said of Gray.
But Hugo Word, an 82-year-old former patent examiner, said he was sticking with Gray, saying his experience and good performance as mayor outweighed the accusations against him. “He knows the system,” Word said. “He’s moving the District forward.”
The allegations against Gray, he said, weighed into his decision but “haven’t been proven yet.”The allegations against Gray, he said, weighed into his decision but “haven’t been proven yet.”
Barbara White, the former editor who voted for Wells, said: “I voted for the person whose values and positions were closest to mine. ... I decided it was better to let a vote for my own preference be on there to let future candidates know what support is there for the liberal position.” Around noon, Evans said he was seeing dismal turnout during a tour of several wards.
Outside St. John’s College High School off Military Road in Chevy Chase, around noon, mayoral hopeful Jack Evans, the Ward 2 council member, said he was seeing dismal turnout during a tour of several wards. “There’s a lack of enthusiasm for all of the candidates,” Evans said, speaking outside St. John’s College High School off Military Road in Chevy Chase.
“There’s a lack of enthusiasm for all of the candidates,” Evans said. By mid-afternoon, at the polling place at the former Backus Middle School, only 298 voters had showed up. Even combined with 325 voters who cast ballots before election day, the turnout was still a far cry from the 1,423 who voted there in 2010, 80 percent of them opting for Gray.
“Including you?” he was asked.
“Yeah, including me,” he said.
“Including me?” said Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who coincidentally arrived at the polling place at the same time Evans rolled up.
“You, too, yes,” Evans said.
Evans said the early spring primary date may account for some of the dropoff he said he sees.
And he said that polls and news reports that the Democratic mayoral primary appeared to be a two-person race between Gray and Bowser may have tamped down turnout among those backing other candidates.
“We have our people showing up and if turnout is low and our people are out showing up, we still have a chance,” he said.
By mid-afternoon, at the polling place at the former Backus Middle School, only 298 voters had showed up.
Even combined with 325 voters who cast ballots before election day, the turnout was still a far cry from the 1,423 who voted there in 2010, 80 percent of them opting for Gray.
Phyllis Matthews, 75, who voted there, still favored Gray.Phyllis Matthews, 75, who voted there, still favored Gray.
“I don’t care for [Bowser], period,” said the retired worker for the city’s parks and recreation department. “She has an attitude I don’t particularly care for, woman to woman. I would vote for Hillary [Clinton] without batting an eye, but I would not vote for that lady.”“I don’t care for [Bowser], period,” said the retired worker for the city’s parks and recreation department. “She has an attitude I don’t particularly care for, woman to woman. I would vote for Hillary [Clinton] without batting an eye, but I would not vote for that lady.”
The corruption allegations against Gray, Matthews said, did not outweigh his long record of service to the city: “I believe Vincent Gray told the truth, and if he didn’t, shame on me.”The corruption allegations against Gray, Matthews said, did not outweigh his long record of service to the city: “I believe Vincent Gray told the truth, and if he didn’t, shame on me.”
Loyalties were split, however, inside one North Michigan Park household. Sherwood Marable, 67, opted to stick with Gray, while wife Helena Marable, 60, went with Bowser. Loyalties were split, however, inside one North Michigan Park household. Sherwood Marable, 67, opted to stick with Gray, while wife, Helena Marable, 60, went with Bowser.
“I want more of the same,” said Sherwood, who is retired from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “I like everything Vincent Gray’s been doing.”“I want more of the same,” said Sherwood, who is retired from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “I like everything Vincent Gray’s been doing.”
His wife said she was looking for a change: “We need a female in the office now, a female viewpoint,” said Helena, who worked for a health insurance company. As far as the corruption allegations, she said, “My feeling is he’s guilty. He’s crooked and there was a cover-up.”His wife said she was looking for a change: “We need a female in the office now, a female viewpoint,” said Helena, who worked for a health insurance company. As far as the corruption allegations, she said, “My feeling is he’s guilty. He’s crooked and there was a cover-up.”
Her husband begged to differ: “To me, they are allegations until they are proven in a court of law. I will wait until I hear what the lawyers and the judges have to say.” Bowser, he said, is unproven and hasn’t been active in Ward 5.Her husband begged to differ: “To me, they are allegations until they are proven in a court of law. I will wait until I hear what the lawyers and the judges have to say.” Bowser, he said, is unproven and hasn’t been active in Ward 5.
Helena Marable said the mayoral race has been the subject of some marital discord, but she said she expected it to end Tuesday. “That’s why we’re here together,” she said. “When it’s all said and done, we’ll still love each other.”Helena Marable said the mayoral race has been the subject of some marital discord, but she said she expected it to end Tuesday. “That’s why we’re here together,” she said. “When it’s all said and done, we’ll still love each other.”
According to polls, Wells (D-Ward 6) was the closest remaining of six other candidates on the ballot, ahead of Evans (D-Ward 2), council member Vincent B. Orange (D-At Large), Shallal, former State Department official Reta Jo Lewis and musician Carlos Allen.
Washington Post reporters Susan K. Svrluga, Zach Cohen, Mary Pat Flaherty, Hamil R. Harris, Marc Fisher and Michael E. Ruane contributed to this report.Washington Post reporters Susan K. Svrluga, Zach Cohen, Mary Pat Flaherty, Hamil R. Harris, Marc Fisher and Michael E. Ruane contributed to this report.