On Tuesday, D.C. residents cast their vote for the next Ward 8 council member. The special election comes after former Ward 8 council member Trayon White was expelled.
At the Anacostia Library on Tuesday, voters filed in and out of the building as they made their choice for who should become D.C.’s next Ward 8 council member.
Around 9:30 p.m., the Associated Press called the race for former Ward 8 Council member Trayon White with 1,987 votes at 29.7%. Sheila Bunn came in a close second place with 24.3% of the vote.
The special election came after White was expelled following the council’s investigation into the federal bribery charge against him in February.
White, 41, is accused by the FBI of accepting bribes in return for providing influence in the city’s contract selection process. He maintains his innocence and pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin in January 2026.
At an election night watch party, White declared victory and shouted out his family and political opponents in a speech.
“I want to thank all the other candidates who ran, because running for political office is not easy,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy thing for me.”
“I created a strategic plan and then we’ll present to the members (of the council) — I plan to have one-on-one meetings with the members — to make sure we still can get what we need,” White told WTOP’s Mike Murillo.
“If I didn’t win, I’ll still be grateful. It’s going to be obedience, forever. God willed this in my life,” he added. “God can do anything with anybody when you let Him, man.”
White said he can only “fight one fight at a time,” and is working on his next steps for when he’s returned to the council seat.
“We plan on fighting. But you shouldn’t allow 12 people to speak for 85,000 people,” he said. “They can’t say that Congress is taking our will to become a state away and taking away our votes, and the council’s doing the same thing.”
White went up against three other candidates for the seat — Salim Adofo, Mike Austin and Sheila Bunn. All three boast experience either working as staffers for D.C. Council members or in the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions — hyperlocal bodies that frequently serve as training grounds for future council members. Adofo lost to White in the 2024 Democratic primary, securing 28% of the vote.
What comes next
The victory by White places the D.C. Council in an immediate quandary: They could expel White again, despite the will of the Ward 8 voters, or they could simply carry on with him among their ranks again.
The other council members have the authority to expel White for a second time once he’s sworn in and takes back his seat.
“The unfortunate part is, the result of this election leaves more questions than answers for the residents of Ward 8 about the future of our leadership,” Markus Batchelor, Ward 8 community leader, told WTOP.
“Ward 8 residents are happy that we’re getting to the end of this trial,” he added. “But unfortunately, it looks like it might open up many more tough conversations.”
At the time of White’s expulsion, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said “bribery
of elected officials is quintessential corruption.”
“If one agrees that expulsion is the same as disenfranchisement, and I don’t agree with that, then it would still be disenfranchisement if we waited a year and there was a conviction. And it begs the question, are we to do nothing?” Mendelson said.
Before polls closed
Charles Crews III was at the library encouraging voters to reelect White. He said despite the bribery case, he believes White should be Ward 8’s voice on the council.
“I believe that he’s done a lot for the community, for the people,” Crews said.
Melissa Green-Peterson, a lifelong Ward 8 resident, said she believes it’s time for a change in direction and cast her ballot for one of White’s three challengers.
“I just don’t think that he was ready for the position. I think that he has some growing and learning to do, respect for the office,” Green-Peterson said.
Also at the polling site was former Ward 8 Council member LaRuby May, who voted in support of Mike Austin.
“It’s actually really unfortunate that we have to be here to have a special election to use the resources that our city and that our ward really need,” May said.
Austin worked for May when she was in office, and on this special election day, she was urging voters to give him a chance.
“No one’s been focused on us, and we need that focus. And again, I believe Mike is the person to bring that focus,” May said.
Andrea Davis is putting her support behind candidate Sheila Bunn, and said it’s not because of White’s federal case.
“I didn’t choose Trayon, not because of the FBI investigation, but because I did not see him representing us in the community,” Davis said.
“I’m tired, I’m amped, a mix of emotions. But today is the day, and I pray that Ward 8 makes the right decision,” Bunn told WTOP’s Mike Murillo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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