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: Election Day, plans for East Potomac and White’s walk out.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 9/10. Exit polling confirms that most of us would vote for this atmospheric policy of sunshine, highs topping 70 and low humidity — by a landslide. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
It’s Election Day!
Here are the basics: Polling places in D.C. are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and if you find yourself in line when polls are closing, you’ll still be allowed to cast a ballot. You can also leave a mail ballot at any of the 55 ballot drop boxes around the city or head to a post office — though you need to confirm that the postmark on your ballot envelope has today’s date.
Will there be any election snafus? Initial fears over possible federal interference or intimidation in D.C.’s election seem to have quieted down, as federal agents and the National Guard have been instructed to avoid local polling places. According to D.C. officials, they have to stay at least 50 feet away from a polling place’s main entrance unless they are voting.
There aren’t likely to be any big surprises in local races, largely because of the outsize role that June’s Democratic primary plays in the city’s politics. Still, tonight is expected to mark the official election of Janeese Lewis George as D.C.’s next mayor, marking the end of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s 12 years in office and heralding a new progressive alternative.
Another big change will happen on Capitol Hill, where D.C. will have a new nonvoting delegate to Congress since Eleanor Holmes Norton — who served for three decades — decided not to run again. Robert White is likely to win the seat, though he’s facing a challenge from Republican Denise Rosado and Statehood Green Kymone Freeman.
Voters will also be choosing council members in wards 1, 3, 5 and 6, and two at-large seats. The introduction of ranked-choice voting has somewhat scrambled voting in the at-large races, where D.C. voters long had two votes to use. They still do now — kind of. The council chair will also be on the ballot, though incumbent Phil Mendelson is expected to cruise to victory and his 29th straight year in office.
D.C. is a predominantly Democratic city, but that hasn’t stopped local Republicans from competing in some of the races.
And then there’s the ducks, of course. D.C. voters will have a chance to weigh in on Initiative 86, which if passed would ban the production and sale of foie gras in the city.
DEEP DIVE
There’s plenty of angst and anger down at East Potomac Park ahead of Nov. 15, the deadline that President Donald Trump has repeatedly set for closing the popular locale to begin a renovation and expansion of the existing municipal golf course.
The biggest fears are that in creating what Trump has promised will be a “World Class Championship Golf Course,” he’ll wipe out other uses of the park, especially if Ohio Drive — which rings the island — is demolished to make way for the new 18-hole course.
That’s left runners, walkers, cyclists, bird-watchers, fishermen and families torn between two emotions: angry that Trump may soon close a favorite destination and mournful that their most recent visit could well be their last.
“I’m down here because I wanted to protest this attempted takeover. I’m so angry about it,” Maryland resident and cyclist Krista Riddley told The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle over the weekend. “I’ve got to do some laps because I don’t know when this is going to end.”
But some East Potomac Park users want to make sure that sadness over the possible closure doesn’t turn into acceptance that it’s inevitable.
“The goal right now is to make sure it doesn’t get shut down,” said Rebecca Miller, the executive director of the D.C. Preservation League, one of the plaintiffs in ongoing litigation over Trump’s ever-evolving plans for the island.
To that end, her attorneys are planning to ask for a temporary restraining order this week in hopes of keeping public access to East Potomac Park while the legal battle plays out.
FROM THE DISTRICT
White officially resigned his seat on the D.C. Council yesterday to preserve his eligibility for the District’s congressional delegate race, capping a 10-year tenure on the council.
While White maintains a preelection resignation wasn’t legally required, he stepped down to avoid a “prolonged controversy.”
“I want to make sure that there is nothing that stands between, or even appears to stand between, this day and the next mission, which is on Capitol Hill,” White told supporters outside the Wilson Building.
The Kennedy Center’s financial crisis is becoming harder to separate from its planned closure. New court documents show that board Vice Chair Jennifer Fischer told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick the institution was broke and borrowing money to pay its bills — even as the Trump administration argues a two-year shutdown is necessary to address the building’s deteriorating condition, The Sun’s Torrie Herrington reports.
And on Monday, Torrie reports, the center announced its 2026 honorees: Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet and Barbara Mandrell. For the first time, the award ceremony will not be hosted at the center but at Capital One Arena.
Officials foggy on power outage cause: A power outage in Foggy Bottom on Monday morning affected roughly 1,100 customers, including buildings used by the World Bank Group, State Department and George Washington University, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports.
A Pepco spokesperson told The Sun in a statement that the cause was under investigation and there were no indications of foul play.
Midterms got you reaching for a drink? The Sun has rounded up where to get a buzz while watching results roll in.
Too close for comfort: Assuming that taxpayer dollars paid for it, Illinois’ Sen. Tammy Duckworth penned a letter Monday to several federal agencies criticizing Friday’s unexpected flyover as dangerously close to the ground and wasteful, The Washington Post reports.
Critical condition: Last month, Bowser asked the D.C. Council to support Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, the taxpayer-funded hospital that opened last year in Ward 8, with $10 million a year for the next six years. Now, the Washington Business Journal reports that the struggling hospital has been hemorrhaging that figure — $10 million — each month for the past several quarters.
FROM VIRGINIA
Locked in: After the last Orange Line train carrying game attendees from Northwest Stadium entered Vienna station early Monday morning, some Commanders fans left their railcars to find themselves stuck behind locked gates, The Sun’s Justice and Will Hofmann report.
WHAT YOU GET NEAR METRO
This week’s real estate column looks at what buyers can get for under $1 million near a metro station in the D.C. area.
Where is this house listed? Click on your guess to see the answer:
SPORTS
The Maryland women’s basketball team nearly opened its season with a spectacular comeback, fighting back from a 31-point deficit against top-ranked South Carolina in an eventual 101-93 loss Monday. The game was played in Paris as part of the Oui-Play Paris games, writes The Sun’s Alex Schiffer.
Former Washington Post columnist and longtime “Pardon the Interruption” co-host Michael Wilbon announced an indefinite leave of absence from his ESPN duties Monday. Wilbon, who will turn 68 this month, cited “multiple health issues”in a post on X. “The goal is to come out of it feeling much better than I do now and ready to return to sparring with [Tony Kornheiser].”
What to Watch Today:
NHL: Capitals vs. Dallas, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
Thank you for reading! If you liked this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at metro@washsun.com. Finally, yesterday’s trivia answer was C) The Octagon. A special shoutout to Bob Witeck, who answered first.
The newsletter was produced by Greta Forslund, Gaby Morera Di Núbila and Jaden Amos.
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