D.C. Councilmember Robert White will run for Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s seat as the fight for local control of the District intensifies, he said in a video posted on social media on Thursday.
White described relentless attacks on D.C. this year. He said Norton’s work as “our lion on the Hill” inspired his career and it’s time for a new leader.
“In this entire Congress, there’s one person whose job it is to protect and stand up for our residents, and we need our strongest fighters. I’m ready to take this torch,” he said.
White’s announcement comes amid calls for Norton, 88, to make 2026 her last full year in Congress after decades of service to D.C.
Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile, who worked for Norton starting in the 1990s and called her “a second mother” recently wrote in The Washington Post that she believes Norton should not seek reelection.
“Norton, a Democrat, is now 88 — the oldest current House member. She is no longer the dynamo she once was, at a time when D.C. needs the kind of energetic representation in Congress she provided for decades,” Brazile wrote.
Norton has repeatedly said she will seek reelection. News4 reached out to her office for a reaction to White’s announcement. We have not heard back.
White was elected in 2016 as an at-large member of the D.C. Council. He’s a fifth-generation Washingtonian who lives in Ward 4, worked in Congress for Norton for five years and served as former D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine’s community outreach director, his council bio says.
“I need you with me, D.C. Let’s do this,” his video concluded.
Sign up for our free deep-dive newsletter, The 4Front, to get standout News4 stories sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
