Councilman Robert White has won the Democratic primary to be Washington, D.C.’s, next delegate to the House of Representatives, beating out his colleague Brooke Pinto in their race to replace retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).
With 64% of the vote counted early Wednesday morning, White was declared the winner of the Democratic primary with 58,269 votes, good for 63.2% of the vote compared to Pinto, who came in second place with 19,792 votes, earning 21.5% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. In deep-blue Washington, D.C., White is all but guaranteed to win in the November general election.
The primary result marks a win for leftist Washingtonians who hope to see the district’s government more passionately advocate district statehood at the federal level, which White has vowed to do. White, endorsed by socialist mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, listed advocating statehood as his “top priority” as Washington’s delegate on his campaign website.
White and councilmember Pinto quickly emerged as the two front-runners last year in the race to replace longtime Norton, 89, who was facing mounting questions about her mental acuity. Each vowing to take on the Trump administration if it impedes on Washington’s autonomy, the two colleagues largely differed in their approaches to public safety.
White, who has served on the D.C. Council since 2016, largely focused on expanding affordable housing, job opportunities, and education in the district while in office, chairing the Committee on Housing. Before serving on the council, White worked in Norton’s office in Congress for five years as a legislative counselor. Pinto, who has served on the D.C. Council since 2020, largely focused on bolstering public safety, supporting Washington’s businesses, and expanding education resources while in office. Pinto previously worked in the Washington attorney general’s office as assistant attorney general for policy and legislative affairs.
On the campaign trail, Pinto had touted her record as the council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee chairwoman to highlight her goals of increasing Washington’s own crime-reduction resources. White, on the other hand, had emphasized addressing the root causes of crime.
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The race got messy at points, with Pinto posting online an over 70-page opposition research report on White that included his own home address. White also blasted Pinto, who had hauled in more fundraising dollars, for reportedly taking donations from Republicans and “partying” at Mar-a-Lago.
The general election for the race will take place on Nov. 3. There is one Republican, Denise Rosado, and one Green Party candidate, Kymone Freeman, vying to be on the general election ballot as well.