Janeese Lewis George (born April 30, 1988) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist from Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4 and a member of the Democratic Party.
Elected in November 2020, she became the first self-described democratic socialist to serve as a member of the Council since Hilda Mason was defeated for re-election in 1998. Lewis George is running for mayor of the District of Columbia in the 2026 election as the Democratic nominee.
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Early life and career
Lewis George is a third-generation Washingtonian and was raised in Ward 4 of Washington, D.C. Her mother worked as a union postal worker and her paternal grandmother served as a lunch lady at Alice Deal Middle School. She attended the School Without Walls in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. While in high school, she was a voting student representative of DC School Board.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and government from St. John's University. After graduating from St. John's University, she worked in Los Angeles for AmeriCorps for one year. She earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law, working at Nordstrom Rack and as a waitress to pay her tuition. While in university, her family was displaced from her childhood home due to a rent hike, spurring her interest in tenant rights.
After graduation from law school, Lewis George worked as a prosecutor in adult criminal cases in Philadelphia. In 2016, she returned to D.C. to care for her ailing father and work in the office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine as a juvenile prosecutor. Lewis George was a member of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1403 while working at the Attorney General's office.
As a juvenile prosecutor, she focused on diverting cases to behavioral health and restorative justice systems over criminal proceedings. She joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2018. Before launching her campaign for the council, she worked for the District of Columbia State Board of Education.
Political career
D.C. council
In 2019, Lewis George launched her campaign for the Council of the District of Columbia. Lewis George was the subject of attack ads by Democrats for Education Reform, an advocacy group that supports charter schools, over claims that she would defund the police. She was endorsed by a significant number of progressive groups, including Black Lives Matter, the Working Families Party and the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America.
Lewis George was the first candidate to reach the limit in matching funds through the District's public financing program since it was initiated. The program provides matching funds but limits donations to $50 per supporter, of which she had almost 1,200 by March 2020. On June 2, she defeated incumbent Brandon Todd by an 11.7-point margin. She was elected to the Council of the District of Columbia in November 2020.
2026 D.C. mayoral election
On December 1, 2025, Lewis George announced her candidacy for mayor of the District of Columbia in the 2026 election. In the final week before the primary, Lewis George's campaign was fined $16,000 after the Office of Campaign Finance found improper coordination between labor unions and an independent expenditure committee. Two days after the primary election on June 16, 2026, she secured the Democratic nomination and her opponent Kenyan McDuffie conceded the race.
Political views
Lewis George describes herself as a democratic socialist. She attended her first meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America in 2018 and continues to do so, addressing fellow members as "comrade".
Childcare
During her 2026 mayoral campaign, she released a plan to create a subsidy for universal childcare.
Crime
As a candidate for DC Council, Lewis George was supportive of efforts to defund the police. She tweeted that "I will absolutely divest from MPD and put that money into violence interruption programs" and won the endorsement of the Black Lives Matter movement. As a Councilmember, Lewis George was vocal in her support for a revised criminal code that critics claimed lowered the penalties for car jackings. She said Congressional efforts to block the code were part of a long history of racism.
Housing
In 2021, she proposed a social housing model of publicly owned and subsidized mixed-income housing. In April 2022, Lewis George introduced two bills inspired by the Green New Deal. The bills would create an agency to construct and maintain mixed-income social housing, and accelerate the removal of lead pipes.
Lewis George introduced the Extreme Heat Eviction Prevention Act of 2025, which would prevent tenant evictions on days when the temperature is predicted to be above 95 degrees. During her 2026 mayoral campaign, she called for zoning reform to increase housing supply in Washington, D.C.
Immigration
Lewis George has introduced legislation to end cooperation between D.C. Police and ICE.
Statehood
Lewis George is a supporter of the District of Columbia statehood movement.
Personal life
Lewis George is married to Kyle George, whom she met at a high school graduation party and married in 2019. She gave birth to their son in October 2024. As of 2026, the two live in the Manor Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.