1986 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
{{Short description|None}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| country = District of Columbia
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| turnout =
| previous_election = 1982 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
| previous_year = 1982
| next_election = 1990 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
| next_year = 1990
| election_date = November 6, 1986
| image1 = File:Marion Barry, 1996 in Washington, D.C (1).jpg
| image_size = 150x150px
| nominee1 = Marion Barry
| party1 = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
| popular_vote1 = 79,142
| percentage1 = 61.4%
| image2 = File:06.CapitalPrideParade.WDC.7June1998 (24674315520) (cropped).jpg
| nominee2 = Carol Schwartz
| party2 = District of Columbia Republican Party
| popular_vote2 = 42,354
| percentage2 = 32.9%
| title = Mayor
| before_election = Marion Barry
| before_party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
| after_election = Marion Barry
| after_party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
| map_size = 235px
|map_image=File:DC 1986 Mayorial Election By Ward.svg|map_caption=Results by ward
Barry: {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80–90%}}
Schwartz: {{legend0|#E27F7F|50–60%}} {{legend0|#C21B18|80–90%}}
}}
{{ElectionsDC}}
On November 6, 1986, Washington, D.C., held an election for its mayor, with Democratic candidate and incumbent mayor Marion Barry defeating Republican candidate Carol Schwartz.
Incumbent Marion Barry sought a third term as mayor in 1986. By this time, his dominance of city politics was so absolute that he faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary in the form of former school board member Mattie Taylor, whom Barry dispatched rather easily. Barry had expected to face Jesse Jackson, who had been encouraged by colleagues to seek the mayoralty, and who had been relatively popular in stark contrast to Barry's declining reputation. Barry, who knew that most of Jackson's income came from delivering speeches, used his political clout to arbitrarily disqualify Jackson by getting a law passed that said anyone who made more than a certain amount in honoraria was ineligible to run for D.C. office. Council members jokingly called this the "Jesse Jackson law," as it was legislated expressly to keep Jackson out of the mayoral race.
As expected, he defeated Republican city councilwoman Carol Schwartz fairly handily in the November 4 general election. However, Schwartz won 33 percent of the vote—the first time a Republican had crossed the 30-percent barrier in a general election.{{cite book |title=Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C. |last=Jaffe |first=Harry S. |author2=Tom Sherwood |year=1994 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-671-76846-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dreamcityracepow00jaff }}{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52604|title=Our Campaigns - DC Mayor Race - Nov 04, 1986}} For the third time, Barry received the endorsement of The Washington Post but "with far greater reservations and misgivings" than at any time in the past.{{cite news |title=Marion Barry for Mayor |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 2, 1986 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/dc/barry/86endors.htm |access-date=2010-10-31}}
Party primaries
=Democratic primary=
{{Election box begin no change
| title = District of Columbia Democratic primary election, 1986{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=429134|title=DC Democratic Primary 1986|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=February 7, 2016}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
|candidate = Marion Barry
|votes = 52,742
|percentage = 70.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
|candidate = John L. Ray
|votes = 14,588
|percentage = 19.53
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
|candidate = Calvin H. Gurley
|votes = 4,747
|percentage = 6.35
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
|candidate = Write-in
|votes = 2,634
|percentage = 3.52
}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes = 74,711
|percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}
=DC Statehood primary=
{{Election box begin no change
| title = District of Columbia Statehood primary election, 1986{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=390464|title=DC Statehood Green Primary 1986|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=February 7, 2016}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Josephine D. Butler
|votes = 245
|percentage = 47.39
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Alvin C. Frost
|votes = 111
|percentage = 21.47
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Dennis S. Sobin
|votes = 73
|percentage = 14.12
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Marion Barry
|votes = 51
|percentage = 9.87
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Write-in
|votes = 37
|percentage = 7.15
}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes = 517
|percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
{{Election box begin no change|title=District of Columbia mayoral election, 1986{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52604|title=DC Mayor Election – 1990|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=February 7, 2016}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
|candidate = Marion Barry (incumbent)
|votes = 79,142
|percentage = 61.37
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = District of Columbia Republican Party
|candidate = Carol Schwartz
|votes = 42,354
|percentage = 32.84
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Brian P. Moore
|votes = 3,518
|percentage = 2.73
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = D.C. Statehood Party
|candidate = Josephine D. Butler
|votes = 2,204
|percentage = 1.71
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Garry Davis
|votes = 585
|percentage = 0.46
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Socialist Workers Party of the District of Columbia
|candidate = Deborah A. Lazar
|votes = 469
|percentage = 0.36
}}
{{Election box candidate no change
|party =
|candidate = Write-in
|votes = 684
|percentage = 0.53
}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes = 128,956
|percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box hold with party link without swing
|winner = District of Columbia Democratic State Committee
}}
{{Election box end}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{DC mayoral elections}}
{{United States elections, 1986}}