D.C. Board of Elections officials say that Kenyan McDuffie, after a failed bid for D.C. Attorney General, has switched his party affiliation in an attempt to grab incumbent Elissa Silverman’s seat this November.
McDuffie will be, in some respects, running against Silverman as an independent in the midterm elections this fall — one of two at-large council seats must be held by a candidate who is not part of the majority party.
The decision comes after McDuffie announced he would be suspending his campaign for Attorney General back in May.
His candidacy was successfully challenged by candidate Bruce Spiva in April, with the elections board and, subsequently, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruling that McDuffie was ineligible to run for incumbent Karl Racine’s office.
The Washington Post first reported the Ward 5 councilmember’s decision to run against Silverman, citing a text from the councilmember.
Anita Bonds was declared the winner of the Democratic primary in for the at-large seat and will face Republiccan Giuseppe Niosi and McDuffie in November. Democratic candidate Zachary Parker and Republican nominee Clarence Lee will vie for McDuffie’s council seat.