1994 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia

The 1994 Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia took place on November 8, 1994, to elect a shadow member to the United States House of Representatives to represent the District of Columbia. Unlike non-voting delegates, the Shadow Representative is only recognized by the District of Columbia and is not officially sworn or seated. Two-term incumbent and inaugural office-holder Charles Moreland declined to run for reelection and was succeeded by fellow Democrat John Capozzi.

United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia, 1994

November 8, 1994
Turnout	51.5% pp[1]
Nominee John Capozzi Edward D. Turpin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 104,532 18,756 Percentage 68.7% 12.3%   Nominee Paul McAllister Keith Mitchell (Withdrawn) Party D.C. Statehood Independent Popular vote 14,147 13,190 Percentage 9.3% 8.7%
Shadow Representative before election Charles Moreland Democratic Elected Shadow Representative John Capozzi Democratic

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on September 13.

Candidates

• John Capozzi, IT professional and candidate for Shadow Representative in 1992.

Disqualified

• Keith Mitchell, director of the Community for Creative Non-Violence[2]

Declined to run

• Charles Moreland, incumbent Shadow Representative

Results

Two Democratic candidates filed to appear on the ballot. Keith Mitchell, director of a charity that worked with the homeless, was disqualified from the ballot because on his ballot petition, a number of homeless voters signed and gave their mailing addresses rather than the addresses where they were registered. After he was disqualified from the primary ballot, Mitchell announced he would run as an independent candidate in the general election[2]

District of Columbia Shadow Representative Democratic primary election, 1994[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Capozzi	85,366	94.36
	n/a	Write-ins	5,101	5.64
Total votes			90,467	100.0

Other primaries

Primaries were held for the Republican and Statehood parties but no candidates were on the ballot and only write-in votes were cast.[3] Turpin and McAllister of the Republican and Statehood parties, respectively, both were nominated through write-in votes. McAllister was also nominate for delegate through write-ins but only accepted the nomination for Shadow Representative.[4][5]

Other candidates

• Paul McAllister (DC Statehood), political researcher and candidate for Shadow Representative in 1992[5]
• Keith Mitchell (Independent), director of the Community for Creative Non-Violence[2]
• Edward D. Turpin (Republican), teacher[5]

General election

The general election took place on November 15. Keith Mitchell, who ran as an independent after being disqualified from the Democratic primary ballot, withdrew from the race prior to election day.[1] Turpin stated that he opposed statehood for DC and said that increased employment was more important than statehood. He also promised to create 1,000 jobs if elected.[5]

Results

General election results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Capozzi	104,532	68.65	-1.31
	Republican	Edward D. Turpin	18,756	12.32	-0.60
	D.C. Statehood	Paul McAllister	14,147	9.29	-3.81
	Independent	Keith Mitchell (Withdrew prior to election)	13,190	8.66	+8.66
	n/a	Write-ins	1,644	1.08	-2.94
Total votes			152,269	100.0%

References

1. "November 8 General Election". DC Board of Elections. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
2. de Silva, D. Richard (11 August 1994). "Addressing a Residence Issue". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. "September 13 Primary Election". DC Board of Elections. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
4. Henderson, Nell; Woodlee, Yolanda (13 October 1994). "The Handwrighting is on the Ballot". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
5. Harris, Hamil R. (3 November 1994). "D.C.'S WRITTEN-IN CANDIDATES VARY IN ENERGY, EXPECTATIONS". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2021.