Thursday, May 21, 2026
In front of a live audience on May 18, three mayoral candidates — businessman Gary Goodweather, Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George and former at-large council member Kenyan McDuffie — sparred at a high-stakes debate, tightly controlled by moderators, Fox 5’s Jim Lokay and Katie Barlow and GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee.
Georgetown University and its Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) at the McCourt School of Public Policy partnered with WTTG Fox 5 DC to host the televised debate for qualifying individuals running for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Barlow began the questioning by saying, “You all have made a number of promises on the campaign trail, but you don’t have a magic wand. Many of those promises, to get them over the finish line, you’re going to need council votes, you’re going to need budget dollars. Sometimes you’ll need agreement from neighboring states and often you’ll need approval from the federal government.”
“So, our goal tonight is to go beyond the promises to understand how. How are you going to get these things done and why should the voters believe that you can?” Barlow asked.
McDuffie started with his one of his top themes: crime. “Right now, we know that public safety really depends on public trust and the trust in the Metropolitan Police Department has been shaken,” he said, adding the number of officers needs to increase.
Lewis George stressed her theme of affordability. “As mayor, I’m going to prioritize building more housing, so we have more affordable housing and lower costs,” she said. “We’re going to expand access to universal access for child care so that no family is spending more than 7 percent of their income on child care.”
Goodweather, a former National Guard captain, said, “What is happening to our city is antithetical to the oath that I took to the Constitution. I will not allow collaboration between MPD and ICE.”
All three candidates said they oppose MPD cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Citing uneven progress in the D.C. Public Schools, all three also agreed that D.C. Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee had to go. (Ferebee announced on May 20 that he would his post at the end of the school year.)
McDuffie defended his business-friendly policies, as Lewis George defended her union support. Goodweather emphasized his Capital Corps program, while he touted the use of small nuclear reactors to help solve the high price of energy for D.C. residents.
Lewis George (con) and McDuffie (pro) argued over support of a youth curfew, as moderators brought up the Saturday night melee — or “teen takeover” — at a Chipotle in the Navy Yard neighborhood.
The last question was about ranked-choice voting. Candidates were asked to rank their vote on their own ballot. Louis George and McDuffie did not give out any second or third choice. Goodweather, for his part, threw out a second option, candidate Hope Solomon. (We’ll see if voters do better.)
The in-person debate was held at the McCourt School of Public Policy on Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus, located at 125 E St. NW. The event was broadcast on Fox 5, streamed online by G.U. Politics and Fox Local and is available at Fox5’s YouTube channel.