1974 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

1974 Washington, D.C., mayoral election

November 5, 1974 1978 →

Nominee Walter Washington Sam Harris Party Democratic Independent Popular vote 84,676 7,514 Percentage 80.5% 7.1%

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

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

Elections in the District of Columbia
Federal government Presidential elections 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2020 2024 U.S. House elections 1871 1872 1971 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Shadow Senator elections 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 Shadow Representative elections 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
District government General elections 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Mayoral elections 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Council elections 1974 1976 1977 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Attorney General elections 2014 2018 2022
Ballot measures 1998: Initiative 59 2014: Initiative 71 2016: Advisory Referendum B 2018: Initiative 77 2022: Initiative 82
v t e

Washington, D.C., held its first direct election for its mayor on November 5, 1974. It followed the passage of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act by the U.S. Congress in 1973. The election was won by Walter Washington, a Democrat.

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, then incumbent as the presidentially appointed Mayor-Commissioner, and Clifford Alexander Jr., former chairman of the Equal 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]