Another candidate with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, has become the first candidate to step into the mayor’s race in Washington, announcing her ambition to succeed the city’s three-term incumbent to run the nation’s capital.

In her announcement Monday, Ms. George positioned herself as a champion for residents who feel left behind by the current city government, much as another Democratic Socialist, Zohran Mamdani, did in his successful bid to become mayor of New York City. 

“Too many residents still feel squeezed financially, from unaffordable housing to childcare, and feel unsafe in their neighborhoods,” Ms. George said in a statement. “Residents face uneven access to opportunity and a city government that on its best days feels unresponsive, and on its worst, is leaving residents out in the cold all because leaders have chosen to prioritize the needs of the well-connected over us. That’s wrong, it’s not the D.C. we should be and that’s why I’m running for Mayor.”

Originally elected in 2014, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week that she would not pursue a fourth term, a decision that comes after she said she’s achieved all she wanted to achieve and is walking out on a high note of bringing the Commanders stadium back to Washington.

In recent months, Ms. Bowser has faced criticism for offering a more subtle response to President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in the city in August. Walking the tightrope of maintaining home rule in a city dominated by federal operations, she permitted city workers to help clean homeless encampments alongside Guardsmen and work with federal immigration officials.

In September, she told a House subcommittee that she did not believe the National Guard were effective as a police force so she did not call them up to address declining but still prevalent crime in the city. Instead, she said, the city had benefitted from working alongside federal law enforcement officials like the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI to lower crime rates. 

Ms. Bowser and her attorney general, Bryan Schwalb, did file a lawsuit to declare the Guard’s presence invalid. The court ruled with the city in November, but the judge put the order on hold for 21 days while the administration filed an appeal, which it has. 

After two Guards members were shot— and one killed — the day before Thanksgiving, Mr. Trump ordered 500 more Guard to be deployed to the city. 

Unlike Ms. Bowser, Ms. George has vociferously condemned the president’s decision to exert federal authority over the city and its Metropolitan Police Department.

“This gross federal overreach isn’t about justice and it’s certainly not safety,” she said in a statement at the time. “It’s an attack on our autonomy and, as a native Washingtonian, I will fight this hostile takeover with everything I have.” 

Ms. George’s opposition to increased policing was also evident in November when she was the sole vote against extending the police chief’s authority to designate youth curfew zones, citing the presence of federal troops as a mortal risk to violators.

“This city is occupied. Let’s not mince words about it,” she said during a council meeting. “It is occupied, and I think we are taking a huge risk with young lives by voting yes on a curfew right now.”

In her campaign announcement video, “The DC I Know,” Ms. George emphasized her native roots and commitment to the city. She credits her mother, a union postal worker and a lunch lady, for teaching her “the value of hard work, public service, and to lift others as we climb.”

A third-generation Washingtonian and a graduate of D.C. Public Schools, Ms. George was first elected to the D.C. Council in 2020. Her campaign was supported by the Metro D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which referred to her as “our chapter member” upon her victory. She has described herself as a “people-first” leader and a Democratic Socialist.

Ms. George responded to the news of Ms. Bowser’s retirement by praising her tenure.

“We will always be grateful for Mayor Bowser’s devoted public service and impactful leadership,” she said.