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1974 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

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1974 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

November 5, 1974 1978 →
 
Nominee Walter Washington Sam Harris
Party Democratic Independent
Popular vote 84,676 7,514
Percentage 80.5% 7.1%

Results by ward Washington  70-80%  80-90%


Mayor before election

Walter Washington
(as Mayor-Commissioner)
Democratic

Elected mayor

Walter Washington
Democratic

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  • Washington, D.C., held its first direct election for its mayor on November 5, 1974. It followed the passage of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act by the U.S. Congress in 1973. The election was won by Walter Washington, a Democrat.

    As with every mayoral election that followed, the 1974 race was at its most intense in the Democratic Primary, with 90 percent of DC's voters registered as Democrats. The primary contest was a seven-person race, but the highest profile candidates were Walter Washington, then incumbent as the presidentially appointed Mayor-Commissioner, and Clifford Alexander Jr., former chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Washington was by far the favorite at the start of the campaign in May 1974, but tightened as the September primary drew closer. Washington won the September 10 primary, 53%-47%.

    1974 Washington, D.C. mayoral election results
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Democratic Walter Washington 84,676 80.50
    Independent Sam Harris 7,514 7.14
    Republican Jackson R. Champion 3,703 3.52
    Independent Raymond V. Ellis 2,985 2.84
    Write in 2,843 2.70
    Socialist Workers Nan Bailey 2,143 2.04
    Independent Tommye Lynn Grant 1,319 1.25
    Majority 77,162 73.36
    Turnout 105,183

    References

    1. Harry S. Jaffe and Tom Sherwood. Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington D.C. Simon & Schuster, 1994, p.62
    2. Matthews, Jay (October 11, 1999). "City's 1st Mayoral Race, as Innocent as Young Love". Washington Post. p. A1.
    3. https://archive.org/details/americavotes11elec/page/356 Page 359
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