DC Mayor Race 2026: Who’s Winning the Race for Public Money?
In just a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of dollars have poured into DC’s 2026 mayoral primary. The city’s public-financing system has certified two candidates to receive taxpayer funds so far, while a third has raised nearly 289,000 dollars privately but awaits certification. Two candidates, Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and community organizer Gary Robert Goodweather, are already certified to receive taxpayer funds. Another major contender, Kenyan McDuffie, has raised nearly 289,000 dollars on his own but has not unlocked a single dollar of public money.
For DC residents trying to make sense of the race, the pattern offers an early lesson in how the District’s Fair Elections Program rewards certain kinds of fundraising in the most important local contest on the ballot.
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How DC’s Fair Elections Program works
DC’s Fair Elections Program is designed to flip the usual campaign finance script. Instead of chasing a handful of maxed‑out donors and corporate PAC checks, candidates who join the program agree to strict cotribution limits and a ban on corporate money. In exchange, they can qualify for substantial public funds that match small donations from DC residents at a powerful 5‑to‑1 ratio.
For mayoral hopefuls, the stakes are high. To qualify, a mayoral candidate must raise at least 40,000 dollars in small contributions from at least 1,000 DC residents. Once a candidate is “certified” by the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF), the city provides an initial base payment—160,000 dollars total for the mayor’s race, paid in two installments—and then starts matching qualifying small‑dollar contributions from DC residents at five dollars of public money for every one dollar raised, up to a legal cap of 3,443,855 dollars in matching payments for the 2026 cycle.
The base payment is split strategically: the first 80,000 dollars comes within five business days of certification, and the second 80,000 dollars is paid once the candidate qualifies for ballot access.
That means a DC resident who gives 50 dollars to a certified mayoral candidate can trigger 250 dollars in total campaign funding once the public match is added. Only money that meets the program’s rules counts toward that threshold and earns a match; larger checks or out‑of‑city donations boost a campaign’s budget, but they do not help a candidate qualify for public funds.
This setup is meant to center local residents in the fundraising game. It also means that early money headlines do not always translate directly into Fair Elections support.
A crowded field, but only two candidates over the bar
On the Fair Elections portal, the mayoral section lists a crowded field: ten candidates have registered for public financing in the race for Mayor. Yet as of early February, only two names appear with the all‑important “Certified” label—Lewis George and Goodweather. Every other mayoral candidate, including McDuffie, is still marked “Threshold not met” and shows zero dollars in base payouts, zero in matching funds and zero in total public disbursements.
That split is not accidental. To move from “Threshold not met” to “Certified,” a mayoral campaign must collect at least 40,000 dollars from a minimum of 1,000 DC residents, with each contribution capped at the program’s maximum. Big checks and non‑resident money can help pay for staff and mailers, but they do not push a campaign across the Fair Elections starting line.
This is where the mayoral field is already stratifying. Goodweather and Lewis George have cleared the bar and opened the tap on public funds. Their competitors are still stuck on the outside looking in.
Who the small donors are backing
The January 31 filings for the three leading Fair Elections mayoral campaigns—Goodweather, Lewis George and McDuffie—offer a first look at how each is building a donor base.
Kenyan McDuffie: big early money, no public funds yet
McDuffie’s “McDuffie for Mayor” committee reports 288,749.55 dollars raised between December 11 and January 31. Of that: 214,715.22 dollars came from DC residents, 73,634.33 dollars came from non‑DC individuals, and 400 dollars came from the candidate or immediate family. There are no public funds listed—line 6d is 0.00 for both this period and cumulative to date. Cash on hand at the end of the period sits at 274,930.01 dollars.
That means roughly three‑quarters of McDuffie’s money is from DC residents and about one‑quarter is from outside the city—solid local support, combined with a significant out‑of‑jurisdiction stream.
Gary Goodweather: heavily reliant on public funds
Goodweather’s January 31 Fair Elections report shows a different shape. Cumulatively, “Goodweather for DC” has raised 48,396.54 dollars from DC residents, 22,906.50 dollars from non‑DC individuals and 605.43 dollars from the candidate or family—about 71,908 dollars in private contributions total. On top of that, the campaign has received 295,265.85 dollars in public funds: the first 80,000‑dollar base payment installment plus 215,265.85 dollars in matching funds credited from earlier reports.
According to the Fair Elections portal, Goodweather has been paid 80,000 dollars of the 160,000‑dollar total base payment so far. The second 80,000‑dollar installment will come once he achieves ballot access.
In other words, the majority of Goodweather’s campaign budget so far is taxpayer money awarded through the Fair Elections Program. Public funds make up roughly four dollars out of every five he has reported raising.
The matching dollars Goodweather has received illustrate how the 5‑to‑1 formula works in practice: his 215,265.85 dollars in matches means he collected about 43,053 dollars in qualifying small contributions from DC residents that triggered the five‑fold public amplification.
Janeese Lewis George: the small‑donor flagship
Lewis George’s January 31 report, “Janeese for DC,” lists 246,635.23 dollars in cumulative contributions from DC residents and 50,229.61 dollars from non‑DC individuals, plus 200 dollars from the candidate or immediate family—about 297,064.84 dollars in private contributions overall. As of that filing, no new public funds are recorded for the period, and the report does not show her cumulative public funding. Cash on hand stands at 117,944.44 dollars.
According to the Fair Elections portal, Lewis George has received 978,038 dollars in total public funding: the first 80,000‑dollar base payment installment plus 898,038.25 dollars in matching funds, both authorized and paid on January 8, 2026. Like Goodweather, she will receive the second 80,000‑dollar base installment once she achieves ballot access.
Even without the public‑funds line item in the January 31 campaign finance report, the private‑donor picture is clear: Lewis George’s campaign has attracted more local dollars than either Goodweather or McDuffie to date, with a smaller share of her money coming from outside DC than McDuffie’s. The Fair Elections portal shows she has built a deep network of qualifying small donors across the District.
At the 5‑to‑1 match rate, Lewis George’s 898,038.25 dollars in public matching money means she has collected approximately 179,608 dollars in qualifying small‑dollar contributions from DC residents that earned the match—far outpacing both Goodweather and McDuffie in building a local small‑donor base.
Taken together, the numbers suggest that Fair Elections is already amplifying different kinds of candidacies: one that is overwhelmingly powered by public funds (Goodweather), one that marries a broad small‑donor base with large public disbursements (Lewis George), and one that has demonstrated strong fundraising muscles in raw dollars but has not yet converted that into certification (McDuffie).
Sidebar: How McDuffie’s money breaks down
- Total raised (Dec. 11–Jan. 31): 288,749.55 dollars
- From DC residents: 214,715.22 dollars (≈74%)
- From non‑DC individuals: 73,634.33 dollars (≈26%)
- From candidate/immediate family: 400 dollars
- Public Fair Elections funds received: 0 dollars
- Cash on hand at end of period: 274,930.01 dollars
Source: “McDuffie for Mayor” January 31 Fair Elections report.
Why McDuffie’s big haul hasn’t translated into public money
The program does not just look at how much a campaign raises; it looks at where the money comes from and in what amounts. To qualify, a mayoral candidate must gather at least 40,000 dollars from a minimum of 1,000 DC residents, with each contribution at or below the small‑donor cap. The program then audits those contributions to ensure they meet all criteria before approving certification.
That process can lag behind headline fundraising announcements, especially when a campaign launches with a mix of larger checks and out‑of‑city donors. A dollar that exceeds the contribution limit, or comes from outside DC, still spends like any other in terms of campaign operations—but it does not help satisfy the Fair Elections threshold.
McDuffie’s January report shows that he has indeed attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly from DC residents, and built a substantial cash reserve. It does not yet show how many individual donors he has at small amounts or how many of those contributions the OCF has credited toward the 40,000‑dollar, 1,000‑donor certification requirement. Until the office formally verifies that he has hit the qualifying mark, the public dollars—including the 160,000‑dollar base payment and the powerful 5‑to‑1 match on future qualifying donations—will remain on hold.
Given that the matching payment cap for mayoral candidates is 3,443,855 dollars, there is substantial public money still available in this race. If McDuffie clears the threshold, he could still access a significant share of that pool. But every day he spends below certification is a day his certified opponents are collecting five dollars in public money for every qualifying dollar they raise from DC residents.
What all of this means for DC voters
Money is not the same thing as votes, but in a local race with limited polling, Fair Elections data give residents an early window into who is building support—and what kind of support it is. For residents, the takeaway is not simply to equate the biggest war chest with the best candidate. Instead, Fair Elections records encourage a different set of questions: How much of a candidate’s money is coming from DC residents versus outside the city? From small-donors or corporate backers. As the 2026 mayoral contest unfolds, those questions will matter as much as yard signs or TV ads. The Fair Elections Program was built to give DC residents more voice in who can run and how they run. Understanding the numbers behind each campaign—the base payments, the 5‑to‑1 matches, the thresholds and the caps—is one way to make that promise real at the ballot box.
About this story: This article is based on publicly available campaign finance reports filed with the DC Office of Campaign Finance by the “McDuffie for Mayor,” “Goodweather for DC” and “Janeese for DC” committees, covering the period through January 31, 2026, and data from the DC Fair Elections portal accessed February 4th, 2026.
