1974 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

November 5, 1974 1978 →

Nominee Walter Washington Sam Harris Jackson R. Champion Party Democratic Independent Republican Popular vote 84,676 7,514 3,703 Percentage 80.5% 7.1% 3.5%

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

Mayor before election Walter Washington (as Mayor-Commissioner) Democratic Elected mayor Walter Washington Democratic

Washington, D.C., held its first directelection for its mayor on November 5, 1974. It followed the passage of theDistrict of Columbia Home Rule Act by theU.S. Congress in 1973. The election was won byWalter Washington, aDemocrat. Washington won the Democratic nomination in a seven-candidateprimary election in which his most significant opponent wasClifford Alexander Jr.

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.^[1] The primary contest was a seven-person race, but the highest profile candidates were Walter Washington (the incumbent, being the city's presidentially appointed mayor-commissioner), andClifford Alexander Jr. (the former chairman of theEqual 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%.^[2]

• Mayoral elections in Washington, D.C.
• 1974 United States mayoral elections
• 1974 elections in Washington, D.C.
• November 1974 in the United States

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