In Ward 7 race, Wendell Felder declares victory over anti-stadium rival
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Ward 7 D.C. Council race remains too close to call, but the candidate friendly to a new Commanders stadium has the upper hand.
The big picture: Wendell Felder has declared victory, and holds a narrow 330-vote lead over Ebony Payne, a staunch opponent of a new stadium at the RFK site. But Payne's campaign tells Axios she isn't conceding.
State of play: Felder has told Axios he is open to a stadium — with community support and without taxpayer funding.
- Payne won precincts surrounding the site, where many residents oppose the traffic a stadium would bring. Felder meanwhile dominated votes east of the Anacostia River.
- About 83.5% of expected votes have been reported, per the Associated Press.
Friction point: Payne's campaign manager Chuck Rocha tells Axios they're waiting for all votes to come in.
- "Wendell gave a speech," Rocha, who is also Payne's fiancé, said in a text message. "He doesn't get to decide."
The fine print: Campaigns can request a recount, but will have to pay out-of-pocket if the difference between candidates is over 1%.
- Felder currently has a 3.2 percentage point lead.