Political party strength in the District of Columbia

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the United States federal district Washington, D.C.

With the enactment of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961,[1] the district has been permitted to participate in presidential elections. It is part of the "blue wall",[2] having voted for all Democratic nominees since 1964.

The majority of residents want the district to become a state and gain full voting representation in Congress, which was confirmed with a 2016 referendum.[3] To prepare for this goal, the district has been electing shadow congresspeople since 1990. The shadow senators and shadow representative emulate the role of representing the district in Congress and push for statehood alongside the non-voting House delegate.[4] All shadow congresspeople elected have been Democrats.

Party strength, 1875–present

Year Executive office District Council U.S. Congress Electoral
votes
Mayor Attorney
General		 Chair Composition Delegate Shadow U.S. Senator
(Seat 1)		 Shadow U.S. Senator
(Seat 2)		 Shadow
Representative
1801–1870 [a] [b]
1871–1874 [c] Norton P. Chipman (R) no such offices
1875–1963 [d] [e]
1964–1966 Lyndon B. Johnson/
Hubert Humphrey (D) Green tickY
1967 [f]
1968–1970 Hubert Humphrey/
Edmund Muskie (D) Red XN
1971 Walter Fauntroy (D)
1972–1974 George McGovern/
Sargent Shriver (D) Red XN
1975 Walter Washington (D) [g] Sterling Tucker (D) 10D, 1R, 1SG
1976 Jimmy Carter/
Walter Mondale (D) Green tickY
1977
1978
1979 Marion Barry (D) Arrington Dixon (D)
1980 Jimmy Carter/
Walter Mondale (D) Red XN
1981
1982
1983 David A. Clarke (D)
1984 Walter Mondale/
Geraldine Ferraro (D) Red XN
1985
1986
1987
1988 Michael Dukakis/
Lloyd Bentsen (D) Red XN
1989 10D, 1I, 1SG
1990
1991 Sharon Pratt Kelly (D) John A. Wilson (D) Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D) 		Florence Pendleton (D) Jesse Jackson (D) Charles Moreland (D)
1992 Bill Clinton/
Al Gore (D) Green tickY
1993 David A. Clarke (D)
1994
1995 Marion Barry (D) John Capozzi (D)
1996
1997 10D, 1R, 1SG Paul Strauss (D) Sabrina Sojourner (D)
Linda W. Cropp (D)
1998 9D, 2R, 1SG
1999 Anthony A. Williams (D) 10D, 2R Tom Bryant (D)
2000 Al Gore/
Joe Lieberman (D) Red XN
2001 Ray Brown (D)
2002
2003
2004 John Kerry/
John Edwards (D) Red XN
10D, 1R, 1I
2005
2006
2007 Adrian Fenty (D) Vincent C. Gray (D) Michael Donald
Brown (D) 		Mike Panetta (D)
2008 Barack Obama/
Joe Biden (D) Green tickY
2009 10D, 2I
2010
2011 Vincent C. Gray (D) Kwame R. Brown (D)
2012 Phil Mendelson (D)[h]
2013 Nate Bennett-Fleming (D)
2014 Michael Donald
Brown (I)
2015 Muriel Bowser (D) Karl Racine (D) Franklin Garcia (D)
2016 Michael Donald
Brown (D) 		Hillary Clinton/
Tim Kaine (D) Red XN
2017
2018
2019
2020 Joe Biden/
Kamala Harris (D) Green tickY
2021 Oye Owolewa (D)
2022
2023 Brian Schwalb (D)
2024 to be determined
Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials
Alaskan Independence (AKIP)
Know Nothing (KN)
American Labor (AL)
Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J)
National Republican (NR)
Anti-Administration (AA)
Anti-Masonic (Anti-M)
Conservative (Con)
Covenant (Cov)
Democratic (D)
Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL)
Democratic–NPL (D-NPL)
Dixiecrat (Dix),
States' Rights (SR)
Democratic-Republican (DR)
Farmer–Labor (FL)
Federalist (F)
Pro-Administration (PA)
Free Soil (FS)
Fusion (Fus)
Greenback (GB)
Independence (IPM)
Independent Democrat (ID)
Independent Republican (IR)
Jacksonian (J)
Liberal (Lib)
Libertarian (L)
National Union (NU)
Nonpartisan League (NPL)
Nullifier (N)
Opposition Northern (O)
Opposition Southern (O)
Populist (Pop)
Progressive (Prog)
Prohibition (Proh)
Readjuster (Rea)
Republican (R)
Silver (Sv)
Silver Republican (SvR)
Socialist (Soc)
Union (U)
Unconditional Union (UU)
Vermont Progressive (VP)
Whig (W)
Independent (I)
Nonpartisan (NP)

Notes

  1. ^ The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 creates the District of Columbia; the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria maintain their separate charters.
  2. ^ First awarded electoral votes in 1964.
  3. ^ The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is enacted by Congress, creating a single, unified government of the District of Columbia.
  4. ^ From 1874 to 1974, the District of Columbia was administered by a Board of Commissioners, whose members were appointed by the President.
  5. ^ Congress eliminated the position in 1874 and restored it in 1971.
  6. ^ The commissioner form of government was replaced in 1967 by a mayor-commissioner and a nine-member city council appointed by the President.
  7. ^ Attorney general popularly elected beginning in 2014, with the first elected attorney general taking office in 2015.
  8. ^ Elected interim chair by Council while holding an at-large seat; subsequently elected in special election.

References

  1. ^ "Presidential Vote for D.C." National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  2. ^ "Clinton's Campaign Is Focused on Battleground States She Doesn't Really Need". The Atlantic. 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. ^ Davis, Aaron C. (November 8, 2016). "District Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Referendum to Make D.C. the 51st State". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. ^ "What does DC's 'Shadow Delegation' to Congress Actually Do?". WUSA9. November 2, 2018. Retrieved 2022-12-26.

See also