Heather Curtis
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The deadline to enter the primary for the D.C. mayoral race is March 21, and so far Mayor Muriel Bowser has no real competition.
“There are candidates running against Muriel Bowser in the primary, but there’s no one of her stature, no one who has a political base and can raise funds,” said Washingtonian Editor at Large Harry Jaffe.
Ever since Mayor Vincent Gray left office in 2015 amid scandals that he was cleared of being involved with, people have been asking him whether he’ll run again.
On March 1, Gray told WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall people are calling him every day urging him to get into the race. “So there’s still a possibility I will do that,” Gray said.
Gray now serves as the Ward 7 representative on the D.C. Council..
Jaffe said the problem is not everyone sees Gray as a favorable candidate.
“The white voters in Ward 3 have no love for Vince Gray. They still see him as a failed candidate,” Jaffe said.
Jaffe believes Gray isn’t jumping into the race because he doesn’t see a path to victory, despite the fact that Bowser has gotten a lot of negative press as news surfaced about scandals in D.C. Public Schools.
First, an NPR investigation found Ballou High School graduated students who were not eligible for diplomas because of excessive absences.
Most recently, Bowser came under fire after backtracking about whether she knew whether then schools chancellor Antwan Wilson bypassed a long waiting list to get his daughter into the city’s prestigious Wilson High School. At first the mayor said she knew nothing about it. But then during a press conference where she called for Wilson’s resignation she said, “I was never involved in a request for a transfer of chancellor Wilson’s student.”
No matter how wounded Bowser might be, Jaffe believes Gray still isn’t a favorable alternative.
Jaffe believes at-large D.C. Council member Robert White would make a strong candidate, but White told him he’s not ready to be mayor. He’s served on the council since Sept. 2016.
Even if no big names submit papers in time to get on the primary ballot, people can get into the race before the general election.
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