Walter Washington, incumbent mayor. Washington had been the last appointed head of the city, serving as Mayor-Commissioner under PresidentLyndon Johnson, before being elected DC's first home rule mayor.[1]
Marion Barry, at-large member of the D.C. Council. Berry had oved to the District in 1965 while the head of theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and had evolved into radical civil rights activism on the local DC level by the end of the 1960s, founding the activist group Pride, Inc. to provide employment for the city's poor black community. However, he had gained the support of the city's wealthy white liberal establishment and had begun to move through the city's public ranks when elected president of the school board in 1972, then to the Council two years later.[1]
Sterling Tucker, chair of theD.C. Council. Tucker was the early favorite in the race.[1] Like Washington, Tucker had been in Johnson's appointed DC government, the president's choice for council chair in 1967; previously he had been head of the DC chapter of theUrban League and was seen as a moderate crusader for civil rights. Tucker had the support of the city's black ministers, one of the most influential political blocs, and the business community.
By 1978, though he still had the support of the city's unions, Washington was largely seen as a caretaker mayor whose mayoralty had served a purpose of transition the city from federal oversight to local independence.[1] In his term as mayor, Washington had appointed white politicians to his high-level administration positions, which had alienated the black majority of the city's population who felt that the black-majority city should be run by black officials. Additionally, Washington's history as a former presidential appointee raised suspicions that he was too closely tied to the city's former federal custodians.[2]
Barry, who had enjoyed support from white liberal Washingtonians as a city councilor retained their support for his mayoral campaign. Barry's mayoral campaign also enjoyed support from the city'sgay community, as well as the backing of the DC Board of Trade and the support of many veteran civil rights movement activists.[1] However, Barry remained in third place untilThe Washington Post endorsed him on August 30, two weeks before the election.[3]
The primary was held on September 12. It saw a very narrow three-way finish. Barry beat Tucker by an extremely small margin of 1,400 votes, close enough that Tucker did not concede until after a recount had taken place. Incumbent mayor Washington finished third, with just under 3,000 votes less than Barry.[1]
In the November general election, Barry facedArthur Fletcher, an African-American Republican who had served as an Assistant Secretary inRichard Nixon'sDepartment of Labor. Fletcher approached the race by accusing Barry of being the white man's candidate, a tactic whichThe Washington Post criticized as "unforgivably shabby."[1] On November 7, Barry won a landslide election with 70% of the vote.[4]
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