Fenty Prevails in Mayor's Race

Throughout the campaign, however, Cropp struggled to sell herself even to people who knew her. Virgelene Braswell, a retired supply technician at the Navy Yard, hugged Cropp enthusiastically when the mayoral candidate greeted her at Backus Middle School.

"You strut your stuff, girl!" Braswell said to Cropp.

"I will," Cropp replied.

But Braswell, who said she has known Cropp for years, admitted she had just cast her vote for Fenty.

Others, however, said they were drawn to Fenty's promise that he will bring new ideas to attack old problems such as schools, crime and affordable housing.

Rondolyn Wilson, 37, of Petworth said she voted for Fenty because she trusted that he would improve the performance of D.C. government.

"Adrian is going to bring a new level of accountability, and that's going to be a bright thing," Wilson said. "I'm looking forward to seeing something new instead of more of the same."

The mayoral campaign has been the most expensive in the city's history -- the five major candidates raised more than $6 million collectively. The campaign has also been one of the longest, with Fenty in particular stumping for votes well over a year before the primary.

Fenty set the tone from the start, with his determination to knock on as many doors as possible. His energy sparked grass-roots excitement, but his ambition also worried the city's political establishment. Cropp said she decided to run after friends convinced her that no other political veteran would challenge Fenty, whom they strongly opposed.

Cropp based her campaign on her experience, stressing her 10 years on the school board and 17 on the council. At small receptions across the city, on doorsteps and during forums, Cropp told voters that she was the best bet to carry on the city's economic turnaround begun under Williams.

The pitch worked well with the city's business community, which heartily endorsed her, but Fenty fought back by saying he had the energy and new ideas to fix old problems: the failing schools, a growing gap between rich and poor and concerns about public safety. He cast Cropp as part of the District's troubled past, even as Cropp took credit for helping rescue the city from mid-1990s bankruptcy.

By early last month, Cropp was trailing Fenty by about 10 percentage points in polling, with Johns, Orange and Michael A. Brown lagging much further behind. Fearing that Fenty would cruise to victory, Cropp launched advertisements that attacked Fenty's record as a lawyer and council member.

If the city was experiencing newfound enthusiasm this election year, it wasn't just the mayoral race that generated it. The competitive contest between Gray and Patterson to replace Cropp as chairman, along with several spirited ward council races, contributed to the high-stakes atmosphere.

The Democratic race for chairman pitted 12-year council veteran Patterson against freshman member Gray, former head of the city's Human Services Department.

Patterson cast herself as a tough legislator who often acted as a lone wolf on the council but had a record of legislative successes, such as a ban on smoking in bars and a ban on trains with hazardous materials passing through the city.

By comparison, Gray called himself a consensus builder who could get the council to work together to improve services to neglected neighborhoods.

Although both candidates said they were eager to develop widespread support, polls showed that the contest was defined in large part by an undertone in which black voters backed Gray, who is black, and white voters supported Patterson, who is white.