Bowser poised to coast to 3rd term as Washington, DC, mayor
January 15, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mayor Muriel Bowser can be almost certain of another term in office, thanks to a national Democratic Party endorsement that was months in the making.
A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Battleground Poll is out Tuesday, finding that 59 percent of registered Democrats say they would support the former Seattle mayor in a primary race. The poll average at the time of this story’s publication shows her ahead of her Republican opponent by more than 2 points — by an average of 11 percentage points.
Bowser — who began her term as mayor with a $2 million donation from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — is now preparing for the general election as she plans to spend much of the next two years campaigning and courting voters.
Her likely Democratic opponent, Council member Anita Bonds, a former federal prosecutor, is fighting for a seat on the council after her re-election in 2018 and says she’s ready for a primary race. She’s also seeking voters’ endorsement.
The poll also indicates that both Bowser and Bonds are making their own preparations for the general election as they take a page from Hillary Clinton and begin reaching out to the state’s electorate.
The survey of 551 Washington registered voters was conducted by the Democratic firm TNS for its monthly Battleground Poll, and has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.8 percentage points. Election Day is April 5.
Bowser enters Tuesday with a $2 million fortune in Amazon stock that she’s not quite ready to relinquish. She’s also an avid Twitter user. Earlier this month, she tweeted a link to an article about Amazon and the National Restaurant Association while driving her children to school.
The U.S. Postal Service, the District of Columbia and the city of Washington all pay Amazon to bring parcels to their doorstep. The company also pays to bring people in via its free Amazon Go food services to restaurants.
While Bowser