DC Primary Results: No Squeakers Here

If you’re tired of the current fashion of nail-bitingly close elections decided only after recounts and court battles, yesterday’s DC primary is the election for you. In every one of the ten contests, the winner beat the closest opponent by at least 15 percentage points. You can get results from the Board of Elections site.

Here are the winners (almost certain to be the winners in November as well):

• Mayor: Adrian Fenty
• Council Chair: Vincent Gray
• Council, At Large: Phil Mendelson
• Council, Ward 1: Jim Graham
• Council, Ward 3: Mary Cheh
• Council, Ward 5: Harry Thomas Jr.
• Council, Ward 6: Tommy Wells
• US Delegate: Eleanor Holmes Norton
• Shadow Senator: Michael D. Brown
• Shadow Representative: Mike Panetta

All seven candidates endorsed by the Washington Post won, as did all three incumbents running for reelection (Mendelson, Graham, and Norton). Despite the victories for incumbents, the council will see a big turnover (assuming no bizarre occurrences in November), since next year we’ll have to have a special election to fill the seats in Wards 4 and 7 that Fenty and Gray are leaving for higher offices. So within several months the seats for Wards 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, as well as the chair, will likely have new occupants.