Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder endorses Kenyan McDuffie for DC mayor
Former President Barack obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, has endorsed Democratic candidate Kenyan McDuffie for Washington, D.C.’s mayoral race. Holder, who served with McDuffie in the Obama administration’s Department of Justice, praised him as committed to justice and public safety.
McDuffie is being contrasted with his main Democratic opponent, councilwoman Janeese Lewis George of ward 4, who has adopted a campaign approach compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and is positioned as more left-leaning. Both candidates have prosecutorial backgrounds and have largely sparred on public safety issues.
Their differences include D.C. youth curfew policy and safe injection sites: Lewis George opposed expanding a youth curfew, while McDuffie defended it alongside incumbent Mayor muriel bowser. McDuffie has also criticized Lewis George’s support for safe injection sites. The candidates also diverge on public safety strategies, with McDuffie emphasizing expanded law-enforcement recruitment from local residents and community safety programs, while Lewis George promotes ward-based “Community Hubs,” expanding MPD cadet efforts, and offering childcare benefits for officers.
McDuffie’s support base includes centrist Democrats, while Lewis George has backing from several unions, including the D.C.Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 36). The Democratic primary is set for June 16, and given D.C.’s political makeup, the primary winner is expected to win the general election. No Republicans are running; there is one Green Party candidate.
Former President Barack Obama‘s attorney general is wading into the Washington, D.C., mayoral race with an endorsement for Democratic candidate Kenyan McDuffie.
Eric Holder, the former top prosecutor and current chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, is the latest establishment Democrat to back the more centrist McDuffie, who has followed the political track taken by current Mayor Muriel Bowser late in her term. McDuffie’s bid contrasts with his socialist opponent, councilwoman Janeese Lewis George of Ward 4, who has emulated New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign style.
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“Kenyan McDuffie served with me at the Department of Justice during my time as Attorney General under President Obama,” Holder wrote. “He demonstrated there the integrity, judgment and commitment to justice that have defined his career. On the DC Council, he has carried those values forward. He has worked to make DC safer, to hold people accountable and to protect the rights of all District residents.”
McDuffie worked in Obama’s Department of Justice under Holder as a federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division. Lewis George also has a prosecutorial background, serving as a prosecutor in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General. With their backgrounds on the prosecutorial side of justice, the two opponents have largely sparred over public safety.
The two candidates have differed on the hot public safety topic of the D.C. youth curfew, something Lewis George has staunchly opposed expanding, while McDuffie has fiercely defended alongside Bowser. More recently, McDuffie hit Lewis George over her idea of opening safe injection sites in the district.
McDuffie has also argued for expanding opportunities to recruit local residents into law enforcement positions, reinvesting in local community safety programs, and recruiting more Metropolitan Police Department officers. Lewis George has pushed for preventive-focused “Community Hubs” in each ward, where residents could access government resources, and has also campaigned on expanding the MPD’s cadet program and providing childcare benefits for officers.
As McDuffie boasts the backing of several centrist Democrats, Lewis George has the backing of several unions, including, as of Tuesday, the D.C. Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 36.
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“Janeese Lewis George understands the importance of respecting collective bargaining, listening to front-line first responders, and working collaboratively to solve challenges,” Local 36 President David Hoagland said in a statement.
The D.C. mayoral primary will be held on June 16. McDuffie and Lewis George are both running as Democrats, and in deep-blue D.C., the Democratic primary winner is all but certain to be the general election winner. There are no Republicans running, but there is one Green Party candidate.
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