Political party strength in the District of Columbia

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With the enactment of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961, [1] the district has been permitted to participate in presidential elections. It is part of the "blue wall", [2] having voted for all Democratic nominees since 1964.

Contents

The majority of residents want the district to become a state and gain full voting representation in Congress, which was confirmed with a 2016 referendum. [3] To prepare for this goal, the district has been electing shadow congresspeople since 1990. The shadow senators and shadow representative emulate the role of representing the district in Congress and push for statehood alongside the non-voting House delegate. [4] All shadow congresspeople elected have been Democrats.

Party strength, 1875–present

Key for parties
YearExecutive offices D.C. Council U.S. Congress Electoral votes
Mayor Attorney
General
ChairOthers Delegate Shadow
senators
Shadow
representative
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
No electable offices from 1875 to 1964
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000 [lower-alpha 1]
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

Notes

  1. In the 2000 presidential election, Barbara Lett-Simmons, an elector from the district, left her ballot blank to protest its lack of voting representation in Congress. As a result, Al Gore received only two of the three electoral votes from Washington, D.C. [5]

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References

  1. "Presidential Vote for D.C." National Constitution Center . Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  2. "Clinton's Campaign Is Focused on Battleground States She Doesn't Really Need". The Atlantic . 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. Davis, Aaron C. (November 8, 2016). "District Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Referendum to Make D.C. the 51st State" . The Washington Post . Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. "What does DC's 'Shadow Delegation' to Congress Actually Do?". WUSA9 . November 2, 2018. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  5. Stout, David (December 19, 2000). "The 43rd President, The Electoral College: The Electors Vote, and the Surprises Are Few" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.

See also