| Election Name: | 2022 Council of the District of Columbia election |
| Country: | District of Columbia |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2020 Council of the District of Columbia election |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Council of the District of Columbia election |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Seats For Election: | 7 of the 13 seats in the Council of the District of Columbia |
| Majority Seats: | 7 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Leader1: | Phil Mendelson |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Seats Before1: | 11 |
| Seats1: | 6 |
| Seats After1: | 11 |
| Party2: | Independent politician |
| Seats Before2: | 2 |
| Seats2: | 1 |
| Seats After2: | 2 |
On November 8, 2022, a general election was held for the Council of the District of Columbia. Elections were held in four ward districts as well as for chairperson of the council and two at-large seats. Democrats remained in control of the council, electing six out of the seven positions that were on the ballot. Independent Kenyan McDuffin, formerly the Democratic councilperson for Ward 5, was also elected.
The council is composed of thirteen members, each elected by district residents to a four-year term. One member is elected from each of the district's eight wards. Four at-large members represent the district as a whole. The chairman of the council is likewise elected at an at-large basis. The terms of the at-large members are staggered so that two are elected every two years, and each D.C. resident may vote for two different at-large candidates in each general election.
According to the Home Rule Act, of the chair and the at-large members, a maximum of three may be affiliated with the majority political party. In the council's electoral history, of the elected members who were not affiliated with the majority party, most were elected as at-large members. In 2008 and 2012, Democrats such as David Grosso, Elissa Silverman, and Michael A. Brown changed their party affiliation to Independent when running for council.
To become a candidate for council an individual must be resident of the District of Columbia for at least one year prior to the general election, a registered voter, and hold no other public office for which compensation beyond expenses is received. Candidates running for a ward position must be a resident of that ward.
Democrats remained the largest party in the council, reelecting every incumbent running, and holding onto wards 3 and 5. Elissa Silverman (Independent, At-large) lost her seat to former Ward 5's councilman Kenyan McDuffie.
| Position | Incumbent | Candidates[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Firstelected | Status | ||
| Chairperson | Phil Mendelson | 2012 (special) | Incumbent re-elected. |
| |
| At-large | Anita Bonds | 2013 (special) | Incumbent re-elected. |
| |
| Elissa Silverman | 2014 | Incumbent lost re-election.New member elected. | |||
| Position | Incumbent | Candidates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Firstelected | Status | |||
| Ward 1 | Brianne Nadeau | 2014 | Incumbent re-elected. |
| ||
| Ward 3 | Mary Cheh | 2006 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
| ||
| Ward 5 | Kenyan McDuffie | 2012 (special) | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
| ||
| Ward 6 | Charles Allen | 2014 | Incumbent re-elected. |
| ||
Incumbent Chairperson Phil Mendelson was re-elected for a third full term after defeating DC Statehood Green party candidate Darryl Moch and Republican candidate Nate Derenge. He was challenged in the Democratic primary by progressive Erin Palmer.[2]
| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia Chairperson of the Council Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 District of Columbia Chairperson of the Council Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 District of Columbia Chairperson of the Council Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Phil Mendelson.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Phil Mendelson |
| Popular Vote1: | 160,896 |
| Percentage1: | 83.4% |
| Party2: | D.C. Statehood Green Party |
| Nominee2: | Darryl Moch |
| Popular Vote2: | 18,930 |
| Percentage2: | 9.8% |
| Party3: | District of Columbia Republican Party |
| Image3: | 3x4.svg |
| Nominee3: | Nate Derenge |
| Popular Vote3: | 13,123 |
| Percentage3: | 6.8% |
| title = Chairperson| before_election = Phil Mendelson| before_party = Democratic| after_election = Phil Mendelson| after_party = Democratic}}
Elections for two at-large seats were held in 2022. Incumbent Democratic councilwoman Anita Bonds was re-elected after being the most voted candidate, while incumbent independent Elissa Silverman was defeated by independent Kenyan McDuffie, formerly a Democrat serving as councilman for ward 5, who came in second.
The first seat may be won by anyone from any party but the second seat is reserved for someone who is not affiliated with majority party. Bonds was challenged by three Democrats in the June 21 primary, all of whom criticized her role as chair of the council’s housing committee, but was renominated with 35% of the vote.
| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia At-Large Councilperson Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Anita-Bonds-Official-Portrait-Shot-002 (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Anita Bonds |
| Popular Vote1: | 103,959 |
| Percentage1: | 31.8% |
| Party2: | Independent Party (United States) |
| Nominee2: | Kenyan McDuffie |
| Popular Vote2: | 71,892 |
| Percentage2: | 22.0% |
| Party3: | Independent Party (United States) |
| Image3: | Silverman home (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee3: | Elissa Silverman |
| Popular Vote3: | 63,457 |
| Percentage3: | 19.4% |
| Party4: | Independent Party (United States) |
| Nominee4: | Graham McLaughlin |
| Popular Vote4: | 33,388 |
| Percentage4: | 10.2% |
| Party5: | Independent Party (United States) |
| Nominee5: | Karim Marshall |
| Popular Vote5: | 16,879 |
| Percentage5: | 5.2% |
| Party6: | D.C. Statehood Green Party |
| Nominee6: | David Schwartzman |
| Popular Vote6: | 16,644 |
| Percentage6: | 5.1% |
| At-Large Councilpersons | |
| Before Election: | Anita Bonds (D) Elissa Silverman (I) |
| After Election: | Anita Bonds (D) Kenyan McDuffie (I) |
No candidates appeared on the Statehood Green primary ballot, but David Schwartzman received the party's nomination through write-ins.[12]
| Election Name: | 2022 Council of the District of Columbia elections in single-ward constituencies |
| Country: | District of Columbia |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Seats For Election: | 4 of the 13 seats in the Council of the District of Columbia |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Seats Before1: | 4 |
| Seats1: | 4 |
| Seats After1: | 4 |
| Party2: | Independent politician |
| Seats Before2: | 0 |
| Seats2: | 0 |
| Seats After2: | 0 |
| Map Size: | 250px |
The Democrats easily swept elections in all four wards, securing more than three fourths of the vote in each. They recorded their worst result in Ward 3 with 75.88% of the vote, performing the weakest in Precinct 9, where they won just 57.02% of the vote. Conversely, the Democrats earned their best performance in Ward 6, where incumbent Charles Allen won 94% of the vote against write-in candidates. DC's tiny Republican Party earned the second places in Wards 3 and 5, while the even smaller Green Party contested Ward 1.[15]
| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia Ward 1 Councilperson Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Brianne Nadeau.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Brianne Nadeau |
| Popular Vote1: | 19,540 |
| Percentage1: | 79.94% |
| Party2: | D.C. Statehood Green Party |
| Nominee2: | Chris Otten |
| Popular Vote2: | 4,192 |
| Percentage2: | 17.15% |
| Ward 1 Councilperson | |
| Before Election: | Phil Mendelson |
| Before Party: | Democratic |
| After Election: | Brianne Nadeau |
| After Party: | Democratic |
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| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia Ward 3 Councilperson Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Matthew Frumin, July 2022 (cropped).png |
| Nominee1: | Matt Frumin |
| Party2: | District of Columbia Republican Party |
| Nominee2: | David Krucoff |
| Ward 3 Councilperson | |
| Before Election: | Mary Cheh |
| Before Party: | Democratic |
Incumbent Councilperson Mary Cheh initially signaled that she would run for reelection, but announced on February 11 that she was ending her campaign.[17] At the time of her announcement, Cheh had only two opponents, Brown and Nemeth. Within hours, Cheh's former campaign treasurer, Matt Frumin announced his candidacy. In the following days, several more candidates announced bids for the now-open seat. Ultimately, nine candidates made the primary ballot. Receiving an endorsement from The Washington Post, Eric Goulet became the premier moderate candidate in the race and raised a significant amount of money from outside groups such as the DC Association of Realtors and Democrats for Education Reform. On June 13, spurred by massive outside spending from pro-charter school groups, Tricia Duncan withdrew her campaign and endorsed Matt Frumin. The following day, ANC Commissioner Ben Bergmann and student Henry Cohen withdrew their campaigns in support of Frumin.
Following these developments, councilmembers George, Allen, and Silverman endorsed Frumin, leading to further consolidation.
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| Date | Place | Host | Participants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant. Invitee. Absent. Confirmed non-invitee. Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered) | ||||||||||||
| April 25, 2022 | Online | Capital Stonewall Democrats[26] | ||||||||||
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Incumbent Councilperson Kenyan McDuffie announced in October 2021 that he would not be seeking election to the council. Instead, he opted to run to succeed retiring Karl Racine as Attorney General.[27] In early 2022, it was reported that Zachary Parker led his opponents in fundraising, with much of his money coming from notable DC progressives. His closest opponent, Faith Gibson Hubbard, had donors that overlapped with previous donors to the more moderate Mayor Bowser.[28] Parker won the primary election and was chosen as the democratic nominee. He went on to win the general election with more than 93% of the vote in the overwhelmingly Democratic ward.
| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia Ward 5 Councilperson Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Zachary-Parker-1 (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Zachary Parker |
| Party2: | District of Columbia Republican Party |
| Nominee2: | Clarence Lee Jr. |
| Ward 5 Councilperson | |
| Before Election: | Kenyan McDuffie |
| Before Party: | Democratic |
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| Date | Place | Host | Participants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant. Invitee. Absent. Confirmed non-invitee. Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered). | ||||||||||||
| November 10, 2021[32] | Online | D.C. for Democracy | ||||||||||
| April 30, 2022[33] | Union Wesley AME Zion Church | Queen Chapel Civic Association and Union Wesley AME Zion Church | ||||||||||
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| Election Name: | 2022 District of Columbia Ward 6 Councilperson Election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of the District of Columbia.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Council of the District of Columbia Election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Party1: | District of Columbia Democratic State Committee |
| Image1: | Charles Allen, Ward 6 Councilmember, Hands Off DC Rally (32776939501) (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Charles Allen |
| Ward 6 Councilperson | |
| Before Election: | Charles Allen |
| Before Party: | Democratic |
Incumbent Democratic councilperson Charles Allen was re-elected unopposed.
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