Fenty Prevails in Mayor's Race

"Just think of what the next four years will be like," Smith said. He also noted the diversity of the crowd, which included blacks and whites. "It's a nice cross-section of the city that's here, and that says something about Adrian."

Cropp started the day by voting at Powell Elementary School in Ward 4 with her husband, Dwight, shortly after the polls opened at 7 a.m. In the afternoon, Williams joined her in Ward 2 and walked with her to greet voters at three other precincts.

"We're doing what we can to help Linda," Williams said. "Voters need to know what's at stake for the city and that she's the best candidate."

Fenty met with hundreds of campaign staff members under a tent near his campaign headquarters on Florida Avenue NW about 6 a.m. He voted an hour later at C. Melvin Sharpe Health School in Ward 4, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their 6-year-old twin sons, Matthew and Andrew.

Yesterday's Democratic primary represented the start of one of the largest turnovers among city leaders in years. After two terms, Williams is bowing out, while several council seats were being contested, including the race to replace Cropp.

In the four ward council races, Jim Graham headed toward a third term in Ward 1, defeating developer Chad Williams; George Washington University professor Mary Cheh defeated a large field in Ward 3; Harry Thomas Jr. won in Ward 5; and Tommy Wells received the Ward 6 nomination.

Residents have generally praised Williams's record in fiscal management and economic development, but this election centered on what his successor can do to fix social problems such as schools, affordable housing and crime.

In addition to Cropp and Fenty, retired business executive Marie C. Johns and council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (Ward 5) made campaign appearances to try to keep their bids alive. But they lagged significantly in the voting.

For all the talk about the drastic turnover in political leadership, poll workers reported yesterday morning that early voter turnout was light, although the numbers appeared to pick up in the evening.

Fenty aides had promised to roll out a massive get-out-the-vote drive with 1,000 campaign workers, about 60 vans and four buses. But the juggernaut did not appear to be as overwhelming as promised -- his aides were outnumbered by Cropp staffers in some locations.

At Dunbar Senior High School on New Jersey Avenue in Northwest Washington, a few precinct workers placed their heads down on desks to take naps because so few voters had come to the polling place. Theresa McBride, a check-in clerk, said she had been in charge of helping voters with last names that started with T through Z and had checked in about 25 voters between 7 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The matchup between Cropp, 58, and Fenty, 35, presented a stark contrast between an experienced veteran and an energetic newcomer. Cropp, the council chairman for nine years, has been in elected office for 26 years, but Fenty is in only his second council term.