Lewis George Wins D.C. Mayoral Primary. Real Estate Leaders Have Concerns

Janeese Lewis George is set to win the Democratic primary to become D.C.'s first new mayor in 12 years, now that her opponent has conceded the race.

Her expected victory tees up a progressive shift in the leadership of the city. But some real estate groups and housing advocates are worried she won't take the steps needed to solve D.C.'s housing crisis. 

Former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie conceded the mayoral primary race Thursday morning, saying in a statement that it “is clear that the voters have chosen a different path.” The official race hasn’t yet been called, but Lewis George is now on track to win the general election in November, where she will likely face no meaningful competition in the blue city. 

Lewis George is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Lewis George has said she is committed to building 72,000 new homes in five years and plans to do so by reforming zoning restrictions and streamlining the permitting process. She also wants to preserve affordable housing, modernize rent stabilization and expand homeownership by increasing down payment assistance and easing the path for renters to become owners.

The greater D.C. region is short an estimated 390,000 housing units, according to a December report from the Greater Washington Partnership.

But some commercial real estate groups and pro-housing advocates have their doubts. The CRE industry overwhelmingly backed McDuffie in the race, both in financial contributions and endorsements. 

“We remain concerned about the viability of her proposals which could add burdensome red tape and increase the cost of building homes,” DMV New Liberals, a D.C.-based advocacy group that endorsed McDuffie, said in an emailed statement. 

Adam Fofana and Karl Nielsen, D.C. regional lead and DMV chapter president, respectively, at DMV New Liberals, told Bisnow the group disagrees with Lewis George’s plan to expand rent stabilization, saying that price controls lower incentives to build rental housing. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Housing Economics found that while the effects of rent control and stabilization policies vary based on design, rent control is associated with an estimated 10.4% drop in the supply of total rental units in a city.

They said they agree with Lewis George’s plan for permitting and zoning changes.

Matt Teffeau, director of government affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington, said Lewis George will face challenges reaching her housing goals. He said housing construction is at the lowest level since the Great Recession and that lenders aren’t funding housing in the city. 

“At the current rate, to meet her goal of 72,000 new housing units, she’d have to be Mayor for 40 years. Unfortunately, that’s the reality she will face as she takes office,” Teffeau said in an email.

Lewis George is a self-described democratic socialist who has been on the city council since 2021. In 2022, she sponsored legislation, which ultimately didn’t pass, that would have created publicly owned social housing. 

While some real estate leaders have expressed fears that Lewis George won’t be friendly to businesses and developers, MRP Realty Managing Principal Bob Murphy said he expects she will ultimately be a pragmatist. 

“My guess is if she’s in the job doing it, she’ll understand … what works and what doesn’t work,” he told Bisnow. “The District government doesn’t have the money, the federal government doesn’t have the money to create a vibrant housing market. You need private investment, and to have private investment, you need policies in place that make investors comfortable with their investments.” 

Lewis George would be the first new mayor in more than a decade and faces an environment where new construction across property sectors is at an all-time low. Groundbreakings last year declined by 27% from 2024, making 2025 the slowest period in at least a decade and a half, according to data from the Washington DC Economic Partnership.

While residential construction starts increased from 1,362 units in 2024 to 1,933 units in 2025, the report still found that residential activity was “well below the average number of starts in prior years.” 

The city’s landlords have also faced an unpaid-rent crisis stemming from pandemic-era eviction policies that let tenants stay in their units as long as they had a rental assistance application pending. That led to millions of dollars in rent debt that threatened to put affordable housing developers out of business. 

The Rental Act, which took effect in January, changed eviction policies to alleviate that issue. Lewis George had voted against the Rental Act, while McDuffie, her primary opponent, voted for it.

The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington said it will welcome the new mayor and stands ready to work together to address D.C.’s housing challenges.

“There is much to be done to foster the type of regulatory environment that will attract the investment needed to rebuild the District’s economy, foster a thriving downtown and restore stability to our housing market,” AOBA President and CEO Lisa Mallory said in an emailed statement before the race was called. 

The District of Columbia Building Industry Association said it doesn’t endorse candidates for office and that the challenges facing D.C. are “too significant for any one sector to solve alone.”

But Lewis George’s victory means there will be a shake-up in the D.C. Council, which could add more uncertainty to how the city addresses housing issues.

If Lewis George wins the general election and vacates her council seat to become mayor and when Councilmember Robert White leaves his seat to take on the role of nonvoting delegate in Congress, the new mayor will have “enormous influence” over who will replace them, Dean Hunter, founder and CEO of the Small Multifamily Owners Association, said in a statement. 

Former D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman’s return to the council is of particular concern, Hunter added, calling her a “driving force” behind many pandemic-era housing policies that landlords have fought. A representative for her campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“For housing providers, these election results represent a worst-case scenario,” Hunter said.

Jon Banister contributed to this story.