Voters in southeast Washington, D.C., will fill a vacant city council seat Tuesday in a special election to replace former Councilmember Trayon White, who was expelled from office in February following his 2024 arrest in a federal corruption probe . Among the candidates to replace White on the council is White himself.
The election will again give residents of the district's 8th Ward representation on the council as the city faces a 1 billion budget shortfall stemming from the Trump administration's massive cuts to the federal workforce, a separate billion-dollar budget fight with congressional Republicans and a possible clash between the Democratic mayor and the council over a proposed 4 billion stadium deal with the Washington Commanders football team .
Besides White, the other candidates in the running are Salim Adofo, Mike Austin and Sheila Bunn. Adofo is chair of a local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, or ANC. Austin is an attorney and a former ANC chair. Bunn was a top aide to former mayor and longtime Councilmember Vincent Gray as well as to the district's non-voting delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton. All four candidates are Democrats. There are no Republicans on the ballot.
Despite his ongoing legal troubles, White was reelected in 2024 with 76 of the vote over his Republican opponent. Adofo challenged White in the primary that year but placed second with 28 of the vote, behind White's 51. Austin challenged White in the 2020 primary, but White prevailed with 58 to Austin's 28.
Ward 8, like the city itself, is heavily Democratic. Former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris carried the ward with 91 of the vote in the 2024 presidential race against Republican Donald Trump.