1990 Washington, D.C., mayoral election explained

Country:District of Columbia
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Turnout:26.8%
Previous Election:1986 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
Previous Year:1986
Next Election:1994 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
Next Year:1994
Election Date:November 6, 1990
Nominee1:Sharon Pratt Dixon
Party1:District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
Popular Vote1:92,504
Percentage1:86.1%
Nominee2:Maurice Turner
Party2:District of Columbia Republican Party
Popular Vote2:18,653
Percentage2:11.5%
Map Size:235px

| title = Mayor| before_election = Marion Barry| before_party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee| after_election = Sharon Pratt Dixon| after_party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee}}On November 6, 1990, Washington, D.C., held an election for its mayor, with Democratic candidate Sharon Pratt Dixon defeating Republican Maurice Turner.

Sharon Pratt Dixon announced at the 1988 Democratic National Convention that she would challenge incumbent mayor Marion Barry in the 1990 election. Pratt was the only candidate to have officially announced her plans to run for mayor when Barry was arrested on drug charges and dropped out of the race in early 1990. Shortly thereafter, the race was joined by longtime councilmembers John Ray, Charlene Drew Jarvis and David Clarke. Pratt criticized her three main opponents, referring to them as the "three blind mice" who "saw nothing, said nothing and did nothing as the city rapidly decayed." She was the only candidate who called on Barry to resign from office, and ran specifically as an outsider to his political machine with the campaign slogan of "Clean House."

Following a series of televised debates during the last few weeks of the campaign, Pratt received the endorsement of The Washington Post.[1] The day the endorsement appeared, her poll numbers skyrocketed, with many political observers attributing the rise specifically to the Posts backing.[2] On the eve of the election, polls showed Councilmember John Ray holding the lead, but Pratt gaining ground fast and a large margin of undecided voters remaining.[3] However, even with the smallest campaign staff and least money, Pratt won the election, defeating second-place Ray by 10%.[4] As Washington is a heavily Democratic city, Dixon's victory over Republican former police chief Maurice T. Turner, Jr., in the November 6 general election was a foregone conclusion.

Notes and References

  1. News: Clean House-Dixon for Mayor . . 1990-08-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121105040611/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1144952.html . dead . 2012-11-05 . 2010-11-25.
  2. News: Post Plays Down Impact of Endorsement; Not Everyone Agrees . Howard . Kurtz . The Washington Post . 1990-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924183702/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1147449.html . dead . 2015-09-24 .
  3. News: Undecided Vote Makes Race in Capital Too Tight to Call . B. Drummond Jr. . Ayres . B. Drummond Ayres Jr.. . 1990-09-11 . 2010-11-26 .
  4. News: B. Drummond Jr.. Ayres . B. Drummond Ayres Jr. . In Insiders' City, Dixon Clings to Outsider Image. The New York Times. September 16, 1990 . 2009-04-09. Sharon Pratt Dixon, who won the Democratic mayoral primary in Washington last week despite having the smallest campaign staff, the smallest campaign war chest and the lowest standing in the polls..