Karl Racine
Karl Racine
Who will win the 2026 DC Democratic Mayoral Primary?
$80.9K
JUN 17, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleFormer Attorney General
PartyDemocratic
Age63 years old (Dec 14, 1962)
GenderMale
LocationDistrict of Columbia
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BackgroundAttorney
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1985)
Notable personal detailsKarl Anthony Racine is a Haitian-American lawyer who served as the first independently elected Attorney General for the District of Columbia from 2015 to 2023. He previously worked in private practice and served as managing partner of Venable LLP, and he has also served as a D.C. public defender and as Associate White House Counsel during the Clinton administration. After leaving public office, he joined Hogan Lovells as a litigation partner and leads the firm’s State Attorneys General practice.
SourcesShowHide
Positions
Economy & Taxes
Karl Racine has focused on increasing government revenue through enforcement and fiscal management (for example seeking authority to retain settlement funds and requesting a tax attorney position to recover additional revenues) and has requested increased budgets for his office tied to revenue generation. There is no clear evidence in these sources that he advocates for broad tax-rate increases or for major tax cuts; his documented actions emphasize enforcement, consumer restitution, and fiscal stewardship.
Healthcare
Supports protecting and expanding access to healthcare under existing federal programs and laws, defends abortion access in the District, and has used the Attorney General’s office to enforce consumer protections like hospital price-transparency. Positions emphasize defending the ACA’s coverage (including abortion coverage) and ensuring access to reproductive care in D.C.
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Immigration & Border
Supports protecting asylum access and immigrant communities from aggressive enforcement, has acted to limit ICE enforcement effects in D.C., opposed federal rules that would restrict asylum, and provided local funding/support for migrants arriving in the District.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Karl Racine has consistently defended and advocated for broad access to abortion and reproductive health care, has joined amici and lawsuits opposing restrictions and defunding of providers, and pledged to defend and strengthen abortion access in the District of Columbia. He has stated the Office of the Attorney General will protect clinics and patients and welcome those traveling from states with restrictive laws.
Climate & Energy
Karl Racine has used his office to pursue legal actions against major oil companies for misleading the public about climate harms and has joined multistate litigation opposing federal rollbacks of emissions limits. His record emphasizes holding fossil fuel companies accountable and supporting regulatory efforts to limit pollution and protect communities from climate impacts.
Public Safety & Guns
Karl Racine has pursued legal and regulatory actions to reduce the flow of illegal and untraceable firearms (ghost guns) into Washington, D.C., and has supported federal rules requiring serialization and background checks for weapon parts kits. He led or joined multi-state coalitions defending limits on large-capacity magazines and has framed these steps as commonsense gun-safety measures to improve public safety while using law-enforcement tools.
News
Karl Racine is in the news as one of the Democratic candidates running for D.C. mayor ahead of the June 16 primary. Recent forums and campaign events have focused on how candidates would respond to President Donald Trump and defend D.C. home rule and city autonomy. The race is still undecided, and Racine is part of a crowded field of candidates making their case to voters.
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How will DC’s next mayor deal with President Trump?
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Supreme Court case could tighten mail-in ballot deadline
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
- Polls
- Endorsements
- Fundraising