DC one step nearer to picking first new member of Congress in over three many years

At-large D.C. Council member Robert White Jr. gained the Democratic major Tuesday for Eleanor Holmes Norton’s longtime non-voting congressional seat, placing him on monitor to grow to be the district’s first new member of Congress since 1991.

The uncommon open-seat contest for D.C.’s delegate submit got here after Norton, 88, introduced she would not search one other time period following 18 phrases in Congress. The Democratic nominee will advance to the November common election in closely Democratic Washington, the place the occasion’s nominee is closely favored in opposition to Republican and third-party challengers.

D.C.’s delegate can introduce laws, serve on committees and advocate for the district on Capitol Hill, however the position doesn’t embody a remaining vote on the Home flooring. The race comes as Washington continues its long-running combat over statehood, house rule and federal management of the nation’s capital.

The first race was held below D.C.’s new ranked-choice voting system, however White was in a position to safe the nomination.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) attends the Swearing In Ceremony of members of the Council of the District of Columbia on the Walter E. Washington Conference Middle in Washington,DC on January 02, 2025. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Put up by way of Getty Photos)

White has served as an at-large member of the D.C. Council since 2016 and beforehand labored in Norton’s congressional workplace as legislative counsel. He entered the race after dropping a doable mayoral bid, arguing the district wanted a extra aggressive advocate in Congress as federal stress on D.C. intensified.

Norton was first elected in 1990 and took workplace in 1991, turning into the district’s nonvoting delegate and one among D.C.’s most recognizable political figures. Her retirement closes an 18-term tenure spanning roughly 35-years, outlined by fights over statehood, house rule and full congressional illustration for the capital.

For a lot of D.C. voters, Norton has been the one congressional delegate they’ve ever recognized. Her resolution to step apart after 18 phrases opened the primary really aggressive race for the seat in many years and set off a scramble amongst native Democrats searching for to inherit one of many district’s most symbolic political posts.

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Consultant Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat from the District of Colombia, throughout a Home Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee listening to in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)

White will advance to the November common election, the place the Democratic nominee might be closely favored in overwhelmingly Democratic Washington, D.C.

Republican Denise Rosado is working unopposed for the GOP nomination, whereas at the least one third-party candidate, Kymone Freeman, can also be searching for the nonvoting delegate seat.