Democratic Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will not run for a fourth term after overseeing the nation’s capital for over a decade, the Washington Post first reported Tuesday afternoon.
Bowser, 53, told the outlet the previous night she determined it was time to step aside, saying, “we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish,” in the heavily Democratic district. The mayor’s public Tuesday announcement comes on the heels of a turbulent few months in which President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency, deployed National Guard troops to the city and federally took over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
It had been speculated Bowser would step down, and her absence from the campaign trail now opens up a highly competitive mayor’s race at a time when mass layoffs of federal employees combined with weakened consumer confidence create economic woes for the district.
Kenyan McDuffie, a Democratic-turned-independent at-large member of the D.C. council, told Axios in October he was considering a run, and his decision hinged on whether Bowser would leap into the race or not.
Janeese Lewis George, a Democratic socialist also serving on the D.C. council representing Ward 4, also confirmed in October she was considering a run.
Bowser did not say if she will end up endorsing a candidate to succeed her, saying “D.C. voters will pick the right [candidate].”
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Bowser referred the DCNF to her Tuesday community letter.
“For 10 years, you and I have worked together on an ambitious agenda to restore faith in our government and ensure that every DC resident gets the fair shot they deserve,” the mayor wrote in her letter. “To keep that promise we took big swings: keeping DC teams in DC, raising enrollment and graduation rates in our schools, and investing more money per capita in affordable housing than any other city or state.”
“Now, looking to the future, I know we’ve laid the groundwork for others to build upon, to reshape and grow DC’s economy, establish DC as the 51st state, and protect our investments in affordable housing, transportation, public safety, and public schools,” she added in her letter. “And to build a world-class stadium, housing, recreation, and parks at RFK [Stadium].”
“Together, you and I have built a legacy of success of which I am intensely proud. My term will end on January 2, 2027, but until then, let’s run through the tape and keep winning for DC,” Bowser’s letter concluded.
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