Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

DC Elections Dominated by Incumbent Victories

KEENAN SAMWAY FOR THE HOYA Muriel Bowser (D) became the first D.C. mayor to win reelection since 2002 Tuesday night.

Incumbents picked up wins across major races in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday, with Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) winning re-election.

Georgetown faculty, students and alumni also won races across the city and country, including Matias Burdman (COL ’21) and Anna Landre (SFS ’21), who both won uncontested seats for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, and Georgetown professor Emily Gasoi, who won the election to represent Ward 1 on the D.C. State Board of Education.

The results come as the Democratic Party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while the Republican Party maintained control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night.

The only one of three Georgetown alumni senators up for re-election this year, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) (CAS ’74, GRD ’78) was elected for another term, according to The New York Times.

Alumni Del. Stacey Plasket (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) (SFS ’88), Lori Trahan (SFS ’95), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) (CAS ’86), Jim Maxwell (CAS ’71), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) (CAS ’75), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) (SFS ’78), Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) (CAS ’85), Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) (CAS ’75, LAW ’78) and adjunct professor Lauren Underwood all won elections to the House of Representatives.

Recent alumnus and Democratic candidate Will Haskell (COL ’18) won his race for Connecticut’s 26th District in the Connecticut State Senate, according to The Connecticut Mirror. The Obama-endorsed, 22-year-old candidate defeated Republican incumbent and 22-year veteran of the state legislature Toni Boucher.

Bowser became the first D.C. mayor to win re-election since 2002, with an unprecedented 43.15 percent voter turnout, one of the highest turnouts ever for a midterm election in the District since 2002, according to the United States Election Project. Bowser received 76.18 percent of the vote, ahead of second-place Green Party candidate Ann Wilcox, who received 9.4 percent.

“Together with all of our neighbors, whether you have been here for five generations like us, or five minutes, I am your mayor,” Bowser said in her election night speech. “We’re going to get it done together.”

Despite Bowser’s endorsement of third-generation Washingtonian and restaurant owner Dionne Reeder, an independent, incumbent Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) won a second term as one of the D.C. Council’s at-large members. Silverman has received backlash for supporting a paid family medical leave law that Reeder and Bowser argue is a burden to businesses, according to The Washington Post.

Silverman defeated Reeder by a 12.2 percent margin for one of the two at-large seats on the D.C. Council. Incumbent Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large) picked up the second at-large seat.

In addition to Silverman and Bonds, all D.C. Council incumbents secured victories in elections for the D.C. Council, according to the D.C. Board of Elections.

Phil Mendelson (D) was re-elected as D.C. Council chairman with 89.1 percent of the vote. Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) all won re-election with over 70 percent of the vote in each of their respective wards.

Despite trailing behind alumnus Jason Andrean (MSB ’05) in terms of funds raised, Georgetown University education, inquiry and justice professor Emily Gasoi defeated Andrean to serve on the D.C. Board of Education. Andrean raised the most of any candidate in the race with over $65,000 as of October, according to WAMU. Incumbent Ruth Wattenberg retained her seat as the Ward 3 Board of Education member, Zachary Parker won Ward 5, and Jessica Sutter won Ward 6.

Gasoi attributed her victory to her stance on education issues and her background as a professional educator and parent of a child in D.C. Public Schools.

“I think the issues that differentiated me from my opponents were the ones that really resonated with Ward 1 voters: they are interested in protecting and strengthening our by-right neighborhood schools, shifting away from over-emphasis on student test scores, especially as a measure for school quality, and in having a more transparent and responsive school system,” Gasoi wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Democrat Ben Jealous’ campaign to unseat Republican Hogan as Maryland governor failed, with Hogan winning all but three counties in the state, according to The Baltimore Sun. Historically liberal voting districts Baltimore City, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County voted for Jealous, but Hogan took 56.4 percent of the vote across the state.

Hogan ran on a pro-business campaign emphasizing his record on bipartisanship. As the second Republican governor to be re-elected in the history of Maryland, Hogan emphasized his efforts to work with Democrats in his victory speech.

“Tonight in this deep blue state, in this blue year, with a blue wave, it turns out I can surf,” Hogan said at his post-election celebration, according to the Baltimore Sun.

In Virginia, Kaine defeated Republican Corey Stewart (SFS ’91) to win his second term in the Senate. Kaine, former governor of Virginia and Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, outraised Stewart, an ally of President Donald Trump.

Back in Georgetown, Burdman said that he and Landre celebrated their victory and aim to bring the perspective of Georgetown University students to the ANC.

“By working to improve some of the most fundamental components of our student experience, such as transportation, accessibility, safety, and campus planning, we aim to make our campus—and the greater neighborhood—better and more equitable for all of our students,” Burdman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In short, we want to continue to make our campus nicer and we want ensure that people can get around easily; both within the university and to and from the greater city.”

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