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This Is What Democracy

How D.C.'s Democratic councilmembers got elected Looks Like percent of votes won in rst D.C. Council victory percent of votes won in subsequent victories

There’s a tradition in D.C. politics: When a seat is open 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% on the D.C. Council, the field gets so big that the win- Mendelson ner gets elected without coming close to a majori- Nadeau ty. (In heavily Democratic D.C., where general elec- Evans tion victories are virtually guaranteed for the party’s Cheh nominee, winning the primary is what counts.) In this Todd Tuesday’s election, all the Council races have incum- McDu e bents who exemplify how majority doesn’t rule in the Allen District. —Zach Rausnitz Alexander

May

D.C. Council elections won by Jack Evans Orange percent of votes won by Jack Evans percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent Bonds 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 1991 Only primary and special elections are shown 1992

1996

2000

2004 D.C. Council elections won by Yvette Alexander percent of votes won by Yvette Alexander 2008 percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent

2012 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 2007 General elections not shown 2008 Ward 2’s Jack Evans won his first D.C. Council victo- 2012 ry in 1991 in a hotly contested special election—even General elections not shown D.C. Council elections won by Phil Mendelson though more than two-thirds of voters picked some- percent of votes won by Phil Mendelson one else. A year later, Evans ran unopposed for the percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent Ward 7’s Yvette Alexander earned just 34 percent in Democratic nomination, and he hasn’t seen a seri- 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% the 2007 special election, but with 17 opponents, she 1998 ous contender since. This year, he is unopposed. won easily. 2002

2006

2010

D.C. Council elections won by Brandon Todd D.C. Council elections won by Vincent Orange 2012 percent of votes won by Brandon Todd percent of votes won by Vincent Orange percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent 2014

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% General elections not shown 2015 1998

2002 In total, nine of the 11 Democrats on the Council

2011 won their first race without a majority. D.C. Council elections won by LaRuby May 2012 percent of votes won by LaRuby May Phil Mendelson won his first primary in 1998 with percent of votes won by others who received at least 2 percent General elections not shown just 17 percent of the vote, launching a long career 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% on the Council, which he now chairs. 2015 At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange has eked out three victories against split opposition. When first elect- ed in Ward 5 in 1998, Orange won 37 percent, while the In 2015, special elections in Ward 4 and Ward 8 drew runners-up won 35 and 22 percent. In the 2011 at-large 13 candidates each. Ward 4’s Brandon Todd won 43 special election, Orange’s 29 percent was enough; sec- percent, a solid victory in a crowded field. In Ward ond and third place combined for 45 percent of the 8, LaRuby May won less than 27 percent, but it was vote. Orange narrowly won re-election in 2012 in a four- more than anyone else got. way race, this time with with 42 percent.

18 june 10, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com