On Tuesday night, when polls closed Wendell Felder had 22.9% of the votes, with Ebony Payne not far behind holding 20.1%.
WASHINGTON — As the D.C. Board of Elections continues to count the votes cast in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary election, one candidate has taken their hat out of the race.
On Friday, Ebony Payne released a statement on her Facebook account, officially bowing out of the race for Democratic councilmember in Ward 7. Payne was one of two front runners in the race for the Democratic nomination.
“The votes have been counted and we have come up a few hundred short of winning out of over 12,000 votes cast in this race.” Payne said in her statement. “I have called Wendell Felder to congratulate him on becoming the Democratic nominee.”
On Tuesday night, when polls closed Wendell Felder had 22.9% of the votes, with Payne not far behind holding 20.1%. This election is historical because the candidate that is named councilmember will be one of three people to hold that seat in the last 20 years.
Councilmember and former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced he would be stepping down to focus on recovering from the two strokes he suffered. Gray has served as Ward 7 councilmember since 2011.
Felder received Gray’s endorsement for his race.
Payne thanked everyone that supported her through her campaign and said “I look forward to the future of continuing to advocate for our community and uplifting the people of Ward 7.”
Ballot counting will continue through at least June 14.
