Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro Newsletter for Nov. 3, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Janeese Lewis George, Robert White and more winners from Election Day in the DMV.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 10/10. Doesn’t have to be a cloudless sky for a perfect score. This one’s got plenty of sun, comfortable humidity and sweet highs in the 70s! Read the full forecast.
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The day before she was elected mayor of D.C., Janeese Lewis George thought about how far she’d come since her days as a student at Rudolph Elementary, moon-eyed when then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly paid her class a visit.
“I just was thinking how blessed [I am], to have seen representation growing up and to believe that I could one day be able to lead my city,” she told The Washington Sun. “That’s what makes D.C. so special, and so I’m so grateful for all of the people who have led before me, and that I get to stand on their shoulders and do this work.”
Now, the work begins. Lewis George claimed an expected victory on Election Day, securing 84% of the votes counted by 9:30 p.m., marking the end of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s 12 years in office and the start of a new era in D.C. politics, The Sun’s Metro team reports.
“It’s a new day in D.C., one where we don’t make excuses or retreat,” Lewis George said in a victory speech.
What’s on her agenda? The democratic socialist campaigned on ambitious promises that drew favorable comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, such as constructing 72,000 housing units in five years and offering universal child care. She’ll face headwinds getting there. Namely, a budget deficit for 2028 that could approach $800 million, a stalled housing market and an economy hammered by federal layoffs. But Lewis George was undeterred by her detractors while casting a vote for herself Tuesday.
“I am going to be a mayor for everyone,” she said. “My goal is to make sure residents in the District of Columbia are safe, that everybody here can thrive.”
Robert White also claimed an expected victory, winning the race to become D.C.’s nonvoting congressional delegate after a dramatic home stretch that could have seen him ruled ineligible for the position, The Sun’s Shamira Muhammad reports.
The Democratic lawmaker, who vacated his at-large council seat Monday, became the third-ever D.C. delegate, with 87% of the votes counted by 9:30 p.m. White succeeds his former boss and mentor Eleanor Holmes Norton, who held the position for 18 terms.
“These are hard, nearly impossible shoes to fill,” White told The Sun. “But I think [voters] feel like if someone can do it, maybe I can.”
Democratic council members Matthew Frumin (Ward 3), Zachary Parker (Ward 5) and Charles Allen (Ward 6) easily won reelection, as did Aparna Raj, who will become a first-time council member and represent Ward 1. Phil Mendelson wins another term as council chair, and Oye Owolewa pulls a commanding lead in the first ranked votes of the at-large race, with At-Large council member Elissa Silverman in second place. Democratic D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb won his race, as did shadow Sen. Paul Strauss and Rep. Franklin Garcia. A full list of results can be found on the D.C. Board of Elections website.
DEEP DIVE
Foie gras is foie going, going, gone. D.C. voters passed a ballot initiative that will ban the production and sale of the delicacy, which is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese, The Sun’s Will Hofmann reports.
It’s a victory for the group of animal rights activists that have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the initiative’s passage, despite some prominent chefs and restaurateurs urging residents to duck it.
Some voters said it was the ballot initiative’s vivid language, describing the practice as the “force-feeding of birds to enlarge their livers,” that swayed them.
“We didn’t know a lot about it, but we didn’t like force-feeding poor ducks, so we voted for the initiative,” said one Ward 3 voter.
The ban is expected to go into effect July 1. A spokesperson for Pro-Animal Future previously told The Sun the measure could deliver a blow to the entire foie gras industry — the District is the “third top consumer of foie gras,” they said.
FROM THE DISTRICT
One of the day’s biggest shakeups didn’t involve an election. Independent At-Large council member Christina Henderson announced yesterday that she has filed paperwork to re-affiliate as a Democrat, throwing the process to replace White into flux, The Sun’s Metro team reports. Typically, D.C.’s Democratic party would find an interim replacement for the seat White vacated Monday, a process he and several other council members publicly endorsed. But only three of the council’s five at-large seats can belong to the same party — with her switch, Henderson snags the Democrats’ No. 3 slot (and sets herself up for a run at a higher council office).
D.C. Democratic Party leadership is attempting to take back the reins. Two people familiar with the party’s deliberations told The Sun that because of a D.C. code provision limiting how close to an election a voter can change their party affiliation, Henderson’s party switch did not actually go into effect on Tuesday — leaving them just enough time to nominate a candidate that afternoon. Their selection was Jamal Holtz, president of the D.C. Young Democrats. Holtz, however, is just a placeholder who will resign once the party completes its nomination process.
It’s unclear who is on solid legal ground here and what happens next.
D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto made it clear in an X post on Election Day that National Guard troops and federal agents were instructed to stay away from polling locations across the District, after D.C. leaders heard concerns from residents.
It came as several cities and counties across the country rejected the Trump administration’s election monitors from entering polling sites on Election Day, requiring the federal observers to stand 100 feet away, The Sun’s Jenna Monnin reports.
New plans for the massive redevelopment of East Potomac Golf Links project the cost and timeline for a new seawall and a tiered-pricing concept, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. The 55-page proposal, submitted Friday to the National Capital Planning Commission by the Interior Department, estimates the new seawall would cost $304.5 million and would take two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years to complete.
FROM VIRGINIA
Democratic incumbents representing northern Virginian congressional districts cruised to victory yesterday. Mark Warner won a fourth term in the Senate over Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa. Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw also won reelection in their districts.
Voters passed three amendments to Virginia’s constitution that were on the ballot. People with felony convictions will now automatically gain voting rights on their release from incarceration; access to abortion, contraception and fertility treatments will be protected; and same-sex marriage is enshrined in the state’s constitution.
In local races, Democratic incumbent Matt de Ferranti was reelected to the Arlington County Board. Kirsten Lockhart was voted mayor of the city of Fairfax and Erin Rayner was voted mayor of Purcellville.
FROM MARYLAND
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore easily won his reelection bid, defeating Republican challenger Dan Cox in a 2022 rematch.
The Associated Press called the race for Moore, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, minutes after the polls closed at 8 p.m.
Maryland voters approved Question 3, amending the state’s constitution to allow the Democrat-majority state assembly to redraw the congressional map ahead of 2028.
Moore sent the question to the ballot after lawmakers approved it during a special session in August. Moore said at the time that the state could not be caught “flat-footed” as President Donald Trump asked Republican-led states to redraw their congressional districts, and that passing the amendment helped ensure Maryland remain in the “national conversation.”
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
For cinephiles: Film critic A.S. Hamrah at Lost City Books, Thursday.
For day drinkers: D.C. Beer Fest at Nats Park, Saturday.
For cat lovers with kids: Pages and Purrs at Politics and Prose, Sunday.
For more info on this weekend’s events, read our weekly culture calendar here.
SPORTS
The MLB offseason kicked off Monday, and the Nationals have plenty of items on their to-do list for the next few months. Among them: Find competent relievers, land a high-upside bat and make a decision on C.J. Abrams.
But, as The Sun’s Jesse Dougherty writes, any discussion of the offseason must include the fact that professional baseball is in the early stages of a nasty labor battle that will almost certainly result in a lockout.
The playoffs have arrived for many fall sports, and The Sun’s Noah Ferguson is tracking the area’s best high school athletes. See his latest selections for All-DMV Player of the Week in football, volleyball and soccer.
What to Watch Today
NBA: Wizards vs. Hawks, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo, Nikie Johnson and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
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