2014 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

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November 4, 2014

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Candidate	Muriel Bowser	David Catania	Carol Schwartz
Party	Democratic	Independent	Independent
Popular vote	96,666	61,388	12,327
Percentage	54.5%	34.6%	7.0%

Results by ward

Bowser

40-49%

60-69%

70-79%

Catania

40-49%

50-59%

Mayor before election

Vincent C. Gray
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Muriel Bowser
Democratic

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On November 4, 2014, Washington, D.C., held an election for its mayor, concurrently with U.S. Senate elections in various states and U.S. House elections and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Vincent C. Gray ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated in the April 1 primary by Ward 4 District Councilwoman Muriel Bowser. Bowser went on to win the general election against independent candidates David Catania and Carol Schwartz.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Carlos Allen, musician and promoter^[2]
Muriel Bowser, Ward 4 District Councilwoman^[3]
Jack Evans, Ward 2 District Councilman^[4]
Vincent C. Gray, incumbent Mayor^[5]
Reta Jo Lewis, former State Department official^[6]
Michael J. Green, candidate for Ward 4 District Councilmember in 2007 and write-in candidate for Mayor in 2010^[7]^[8]
Vincent Orange, At-Large District Councilman^[9]
Andy Shallal, artist, activist, and proprietor of Busboys and Poets^[10]
Tommy Wells, Ward 6 District Councilman^[11]

Withdrew

Christian A. Carter, businessman (withdrew January 18, 2014)^[12]^[13]

Declined

Robert Bobb, former city administrator^[14]
Adrian Fenty, former Mayor^[15]
Eric W. Price, former Deputy Mayor^[16]
Anthony A. Williams, former Mayor^[4]

Endorsements

Muriel Bowser

EMILY's List^[17]
The Washington Post editorial board^[18]

Jack Evans

The Downtowner editorial board^[19]
George Washington University College Democrats^[20]
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District of Columbia and Maryland State Council^[21]
The InTowner^[22]

Vincent C. Gray

American Federation of Government Employees, District 14^[23]
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 20^[24]
Marion Barry^[25]
District of Columbia Asian American & Pacific Islanders Democratic Caucus^[26]
District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce^[27]
District of Columbia Latino Caucus^[28]
Hotel Organization to Elect Leaders^[29]
Laborers' International Union of North America, Mid-Atlantic Region^[30]
Service Employees International Union, District of Columbia/Maryland Council^[31]
Teamsters Local 639, Local 730, and Local 67^[32]
Unite Here, Local 25^[33]
Washington D.C. Building and Construction Trades Council^[34]
The Washington Informer editorial board^[35]

Vincent Orange

National Nurses United^[23]
United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 400^[36]

Tommy Wells

The Georgetown Voice editorial board^[37]
District of Columbia Firefighters Association, Local 36^[38]
Fraternal Order of Police, Metropolitan Police Department Labor Committee^[39]
Greater Greater Washington editorial board^[40]
National Organization of Women, DC Chapter^[41]
NORML PAC^[42]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Vincent C. Gray	Muriel Bowser	Jack Evans	Reta Jo Lewis	Vincent Orange	Andy Shallal	Tommy Wells	Other	Undecided
The Washington Post	March 20–23, 2014	391	± 6.5%	27%	30%	6%	3%	3%	6%	14%	2%^[a]	9%
Marist	March 19–23, 2014	441	± 4.7%	26%	28%	9%	2%	4%	4%	11%	2%^[b]	15%
Public Policy Polling	March 13–16, 2014	860	± 3.3%	27%	27%	13%	1%	2%	7%	9%	—	14%
Marist	February 17–23, 2014	416	± 4.8%	28%	20%	13%	3%	4%	6%	12%	2%^[c]	12%
The Washington Post	January 9–12, 2014	669	± 5%	24%	12%	11%	1%	9%	5%	11%	4%^[d]	23%
GarinHartYang^	January 6–9, 2014	502	± 4.4%	20%	18%	15%	—	6%	3%	15%	—	23%
Lake Research Partners*	June 27–July 1, 2013	503	± 4.4%	21%	17%	13%	—	—	—	16%	—	31%

^ Internal poll for the Muriel Bowser campaign
* Internal poll for the Tommy Wells campaign

Results

District of Columbia Democratic primary election, 2014^[43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Muriel Bowser	42,045	43.38
	Democratic	Vincent C. Gray (incumbent)	31,613	32.62
	Democratic	Tommy Wells	12,393	12.79
	Democratic	Jack Evans	4,877	5.03
	Democratic	Andy Shallal	3,196	3.3
	Democratic	Vincent Orange	1,946	2.01
	Democratic	Reta Jo Lewis	490	0.51
	Democratic	Carlos Allen	120	0.12
	Democratic	Write-in	235	0.24
Total votes			96,915	100

Republican primary

The District of Columbia Republican Party said it may appoint a candidate to run in the general election.^[44] However, since it did not do so by September 8, 2014, no Republican candidate appeared on the general election ballot.^[44]

Candidates

Withdrew

Kris Hammond, attorney and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner^[45]

Declined

Michael Powell, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission^[46]
Carol Schwartz, former At-large District Councilwoman and four-time mayoral candidate (ran as an Independent)^[4]

Results

District of Columbia Republican primary election, 2014^[43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Write-in	717	100
Total votes			717	100

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

Bruce Majors, real estate agent and nominee for U.S. Delegate in 2012^[47]

Results

District of Columbia Libertarian primary election, 2014^[43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Bruce Majors	30	90.91
	Libertarian	Write-in	3	9.09
Total votes			33	100

D.C. Statehood Green primary

Candidates

Declared

Faith Dane, perennial candidate^[2]

Results

District of Columbia Green primary election, 2014^[43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	DC Statehood Green	Faith Dane	191	47.63
	DC Statehood Green	Write-in	210	52.37
Total votes			401	100

Independent

Candidates

Declared

David Catania, independent at-large D.C. Councillor^[4]^[48]^[49]
Carol Schwartz, former Republican At-large D.C. Councillor and candidate for mayor in 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2002^[50]

Withdrew

Nestor Djonkam, engineer and Democratic candidate for mayor in 2006^[51]^[52]^[53]
Ben Foshager (write-in)^[54]^[55]^[56]

Disqualified

James M. Caviness^[51]^[52]
Michael T. Green^[51]^[52]
David O. Leacraft-EL^[52]^[57]
Frank E. Sewell^[51]^[52]

Declined

John Hill, CFO of Detroit, former CEO of the Federal City Council and former Executive Director of the District of Columbia Financial Control Board^[58]
Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration and candidate for Mayor in 2006^[58]
Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia^[59]
Kathleen Patterson, former Ward 3 District Councilwoman^[58]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Muriel Bowser (D)	David Catania (I)	Carol Schwartz (I)	Other	Undecided
Ron Lester*	September/October, 2014	500	± ?	34%	30%	16%	—	19%
Economic Growth D.C.	September 28–30, 2014	1,023	± 3%	35%	27%	11%	—	27%
Economic Growth D.C.	September 28–30, 2014	1,023	± 3%	43%	33%	—	—	24%
Marist	September 14–16, 2014	572	± 4%	43%	26%	16%	1%	14%
				50%	33%	—	1%	16%
				55%	—	25%	2%	18%
The Washington Post	March 20–23, 2014	1,102	± 4%	56%	23%	—	1%	21%
Marist	March 19–23, 2014	532	± 4.2%	46%	26%	—	—	28%

* Internal poll for the Karl Racine campaign for Attorney General

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Vincent C. Gray (D)	David Catania (I)	Other	Undecided
The Washington Post	March 20–23, 2014	1,102	± 4%	41%	41%	1%	17%
Marist	March 19–23, 2014	569	± 4.1%	43%	37%	—	20%
The Washington Post	January 9–12, 2014	1,003	± 4%	43%	38%	1%	18%

Results

Washington, D.C. mayoral election, 2014^[60]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Muriel Bowser	96,666	54.50
	Independent	David Catania	61,388	34.61
	Independent	Carol Schwartz	12,327	6.95
	DC Statehood Green	Faith Dane	1,520	0.86
	Libertarian	Bruce Majors	1,297	0.73
	Write-in		1,612	0.91
	Over Votes	Other	95	0.05
	Under Votes	Other	1,993	1.12
Total votes			177,358	100.00
	Democratic hold

Notes

References

^ "Election as D.C. mayor caps Muriel Bowser's swift rise". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
^ ^a ^b DeBonis, Mike (January 2, 2014). "Race for D.C. mayor now a little less crowded". Washington City Paper.
^ "Bowser Announces Mayoral Run". NBC4 Washington. March 24, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sherwood, Tom (February 6, 2013). "Sherwood's Notebook: The Race Is On". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
^ "Mayor Vincent Gray to run for reelection in 2014". WJLA. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
^ Dick, Jason (July 5, 2013). "Groups Urge End to D.C. Riders on Bills". Roll Call. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
^ Sommer, Will (February 19, 2014). "5 Building Ideas From the Mayoral Architecture Debate". Washington City Paper.
^ Orvetti, P.J. (July 16, 2010). "Who Are the Other Candidates for Mayor? Five besides Fenty and Gray on Democratic ballot". WRC-TV. NBCUniversal Media, LLC.
^ DeBonis, Mike (November 8, 2013). "Vincent Orange is running for mayor". The Washington Post.
^ Debonis, Mike (November 8, 2013). "Andy Shallal is running for D.C. mayor". The Washington Post.
^ DeBonis, Mike; Craig, Tim (May 18, 2013). "Wells kicks off mayoral campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
^ DeBonis, Mike (July 22, 2013). "Latest D.C. mayoral candidate is locked in city contracting disputes". The Washington Post.
^ DeBonis, Mike (January 20, 2014). "Christian Carter exits D.C. mayor race, leaving eight Democrats on ballot". The Washington Post.
^ DeBonis, Mike (April 28, 2013). "Former D.C. administrator Bobb said to be weighing mayoral run next year". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
^ Austermuhle, Martin (June 20, 2012). "No, Adrian Fenty Isn't Going to Run Again". DCist. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
^ DeBonis, Mike (October 14, 2013). "Andy Shallal says he will formally explore mayoral run". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
^ Freed, Benjamin (February 25, 2013). "Political Groups Line Up to Endorse DC's Mayoral Candidates, Real and Hypothetical". Washingtonian Magazine.
^ "Muriel Bowser for District Mayor" (editorial). The Washington Post. February 20, 2014.
^ "Jack Evans for Mayor of Washington, D.C." (editorial). The Downtowner. March 12, 2014.
^ Gerendasy, Rachel (February 3, 2014). "Jack Evans picks up endorsement from College Democrats". The GW Hatchet. Hatchet Publications, Inc.
^ Evans, Mike (July 30, 2013). "Jack Evans snags early union endorsement thanks to 'living wage' vote". The Washington Post.
^ "Our Pick for Mayor and Council At-Large" (editorial). The InTowner. March 14, 2014.
^ ^a ^b DeBonis, Mike (March 6, 2014). "Nurses endorse Vincent Orange; Vincent Gray picks up more support". The Washington Post.
^ "AFSCME District Council 20 Endorses Vincent Gray For Mayor". AFSCME District Council 20. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original (news release) on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
^ "Marion Barry endorses Vincent Gray in D.C. mayoral race". WJLA-TV. Associated Press. March 19, 2014.
^ Wright, James (March 2, 2014). "Gray Wins Latino, Asian Endorsement". The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
^ Wright, James (March 4, 2014). "Gray Endorsed by D.C. Chamber of Commerce". The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
^ Carter, Aaron C. (March 3, 2014). "Latino and Asian groups back incumbent mayor". The Washington Post.
^ "H.O.T.E.L. PAC Endorses Mayor Vincent Gray for a Second Term for the 2014 Primary Election" (PDF) (Press release). Hotel Organization to Elect Leaders. February 26, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
^ DeBonis, Mike (February 21, 2014). "Union endorsements keep coming for D.C. races". The Washington Post.
^ DeBonis, Mike (February 10, 2014). "Vincent Gray picks up more labor endorsements". The Washington Post.
^ "Teamsters endorse Mayor Gray for reelection". WUSA-TV. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
^ DeBonis, Mike (January 16, 2014). "Hotel workers hand Gray first major endorsement". The Washington Post.
^ Hess, Hannah (February 26, 2014). "D.C.'s Democratic Mayoral Candidates, Potential Challenger Pick Up Endorsements". Roll Call.
^ "Mayor Gray is Our Choice". The Washington Informer. March 26, 2014. Archived from the original (editorial) on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
^ DeBonis, Mike (February 24, 2014). "Grocery workers back Vincent Orange for D.C. mayor". The Washington Post.
^ "Vote Tommy Wells: Integrity, experience for D.C." March 26, 2014.
^ Park, Jeesoo; Van Cleave, Kris; Vela, Hatzel (February 25, 2014). "Tommy Wells calls for resignation of D.C. Fire Chief, Deputy Mayor". WJLA-TV.
^ "Endorsement: The D.C. Police Union, Fraternal Order of Police & Metropolitan Police Department Labor Committee" (Press release). Tommy Wells for Mayor. March 12, 2014.
^ "For DC Mayor: Tommy Wells" (editorial). Greater Greater Washington. March 12, 2014.
^ "DC Chapter of National Organization for Women Endorses Tommy Wells for Mayor". Tommy Wells for Mayor. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014.
^ Altieri, Erik (March 14, 2014). "NORML PAC Endorses Tommy Wells for Mayor of DC". NORML PAC.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Primary Election". District of Columbia Board of Elections. April 23, 2014. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Riley, John (April 8, 2014). "D.C. GOP Commits to Full Slate: Republicans Announce Plan to Fill Empty Post-primary Slots with Appointed Candidates". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014.
^ Sommer, Will (June 20, 2014). "Attorney Enters, Then Quickly Leaves, GOP Mayoral Race". Washington City Paper.
^ DeBonis, Mike (August 3, 2012). "Is Michael Powell considering a D.C. mayoral run?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
^ Chibbaro Jr., Lou (November 27, 2013). "Gay Libertarian enters mayor's race". Washington Blade.
^ Brown, Emma; DeBonis, Mike (December 3, 2013). "David Catania, D.C. Council member, to form exploratory committee for mayoral run". The Washington Post.
^ Freed, Benjamin (March 11, 2014). "David Catania Will Run for DC Mayor". Washingtonian. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
^ Debonis, Mike (June 9, 2014). "Carol Schwartz, former D.C. Council member, launches independent mayoral campaign". The Washington Post.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Direct Access/State Board of Education Candidates in the November 4, 2014 General Election" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Education. June 16, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e DeBonis, Mike (September 12, 2014). "D.C. ballot for Nov. 4 general election is set". The Washington Post. Washington. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
^ Sommer, Will (October 24, 2014). "Muriel Bowser Lands the Nestor Djonkam (?) Endorsement". Washington City Paper.
^ Collier-Montgomery, Cecily (January 8, 2014). "New Candidates and Committees Registered for the 2014 Election Cycle" (PDF). District of Columbia: Office of Campaign Finance. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
^ Foshager, Ben (July 1, 2014). "Meet Ben". Ben Foshager for Mayor of D.C. 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
^ Ben Foshager (January 5, 2015). "Because I unofficially or officially (don't know which) dropped out". Twitter. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
^ "Direct Access and State Board of Education Candidates in the November 4, 2014 General Election" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c Colbert I. King (November 22, 2013). "A D.C. mayor who's not a Democrat?". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
^ Freed, Benjamin R. (August 29, 2012). "Lanier Says She Has 'No Interest' in Running for Mayor". DCist. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
^ "General Election Election Date: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections. December 3, 2014. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.

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v t e Mayoral elections in Washington, D.C. (with winners)
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