WASHINGTON — DC City Councilmember Robert White won the Democratic nod Tuesday night to become the first new delegate to Congress from the nation’s capital in 36 years.
White won 63.2% of the vote compared to his City Council colleague Brooke Pinto, who notched 21.5% when the contest was called by the Associated Press just after 12:10 a.m. ET. Wednesday.
He is almost sure to win the delegate post in November and represent one of the most Democratic constituencies in America.
White was seen as the more progressive of the top-tier candidates and had a bruising battle against Pinto, whom observers deemed more of a pragmatist.
While White had pushed more left-wing activist causes during his tenure on the Council, Pinto tended to favor more law-and-order and business-friendly policies.
The campaign got nasty back in April after Pinto released a 67-page opposition research dump on White, revealing that his campaign had accepted donations from real estate developers as well as four individuals who donated to President Trump’s past campaigns.
Pinto later apologized for failing to redact key portions of the file, including White’s home address and details about his family.
A fresh face for DC
Eleanor Norton, 89, has been DC’s non-voting delegate to Congress since 1991, and is the oldest person currently serving in the House of Representatives.
Under Article I of the Constitution, only states are afforded full representation in Congress. DC, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands elect delegates who can introduce legislation, provide constituent services, partake in party caucuses, cast votes on congressional committees, and even lead committees.
But they can’t vote on bills that are up for a floor vote.
In recent years, Norton frequently showed signs of confusion or detachment.
Last year, she repeatedly told reporters that she planned to run for re-election, despite her office maintaining that a decision hadn’t been made.
She eventually opted not to seek a 19th term.
Also last year, Norton was scammed out of $4,400 by grifters who claimed to be part of a cleaning crew and charged her credit card for work they didn’t perform, NBC Washington reported.
A DC police report characterized Norton as being in the “early stages of dementia,” per the outlet.