D.C. Delegate Primary Preview: Robert White Leads the Open Race to Replace Eleanor Holmes Norton
- -D.C. votes Tuesday, June 16, in the primary for its non-voting U.S. House delegate. The seat is open for the first time since 1991, after Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, ended her reelection bid in January.
- It is effectively a two-person Democratic race. At-Large Councilmember Robert White leads Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, with Greg Jaczko, Kinney Zalesne and Trent Holbrook trailing.
- A late-May poll put White at 38% to Pinto's 21%, a 17-point lead. On Polymarket, White is trading around 74% to win the nomination.
- D.C. is debuting ranked-choice voting. If no one tops 50% of first choices, second choices decide it, which gives the trailing candidates a small opening.
- The primary is the whole ballgame. D.C. is overwhelmingly Democratic, so the June 16 winner will be the heavy favorite in November, with Republican Denise Rosado and D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate Kymone Freeman also on the ballot.
WASHINGTON, D.C - For the first time in 35 years, the District of Columbia is choosing a new voice in Congress. The seat held since 1991 by Eleanor Holmes Norton is open, and D.C. voters pick a nominee Tuesday, June 16.
Norton, 88, ended her reelection campaign in January after a wave of calls to step aside, including from longtime ally Donna Brazile. She leaves behind the District's most symbolic federal job: a delegate who can sit on committees and speak on the House floor but cannot cast a final vote on legislation.
Because D.C. is overwhelmingly Democratic, the June 16 Democratic primary is the real election. The winner will be a lock in November.
A Two-Person Race
Five Democrats are running, but the contest has narrowed to two members of the D.C. Council.
Robert White, an at-large councilmember since 2016, is the front-runner. He has campaigned on housing, public safety and standing up to federal interference in city affairs. Brooke Pinto, the Ward 2 councilmember and chair of the council's judiciary and public safety committee, is his closest challenger, running on crime and criminal-justice policy.
Three others fill out the field: Greg Jaczko, the former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Kinney Zalesne, an attorney and former federal official focused on statehood; and Trent Holbrook, a former Norton aide.
What the Odds Say
This is the rare local primary with a real betting market. A delegate race almost never shows up the way the bigger House of Representatives odds do, but this open seat is the exception, and the market points one direction.
A late-May poll from City Cast DC gave White 38% to Pinto's 21%, a 17-point lead with the rest of the field far back. The prediction market has followed. On Polymarket, White is trading around 74% to win the nomination, down from roughly 85% a week earlier as Pinto worked to close the gap. The catch is that trading volume is tiny, so the market is thin and can move on small bets.
Even so, the signal is consistent. White enters the final days as the clear favorite, and Pinto is the only other candidate the market gives a real chance.
The Ranked-Choice Wrinkle
There is one new variable. D.C. is using ranked-choice voting for the first time, and voters can rank up to five candidates.
If no one wins more than 50% of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is dropped and those ballots shift to their next pick, and so on until someone clears the bar. White's 38% in the poll would not win outright on first choices, so where Jaczko, Zalesne and Holbrook voters place their second choices could matter. His lead is large enough that he is still favored, but ranked choice gives Pinto a narrow path if she is the broad second pick. One thing to expect: D.C. counts mail ballots for days and will not run the ranked-choice rounds right away, so unless someone tops 50% of first choices, the final result may not come until the following week.
The Stakes
The job may be non-voting, but the timing makes it loud. Over the past year, Congress and the Trump administration have asserted more control over the District, from policing to budget fights, and home rule and statehood have moved back to the center of D.C. politics.
That is why the race drew sitting council members and a packed forum schedule. Every candidate is running on a version of the same promise: defend the District against federal encroachment and push for full representation. The delegate cannot stop a House vote, but the delegate is the city's loudest official voice in the building.
The Bottom Line
For the first time in a generation, D.C. will send someone new to represent it in Congress. The decision is effectively made June 16, not in November.
Watch two things on primary night. Does Robert White clear 50% on first choices and win outright, or does ranked-choice voting push the count into later rounds? And can Brooke Pinto turn a 17-point polling deficit into a real fight? The general election is Nov. 3, but in D.C., that is a formality. For the latest election odds, the date that matters is June 16.
