591 likely voters have had their say, and the result is: Mayoral Power Rankings are back. 

1. Muriel Bowser

What: Polls! Bowser swept the board this week, coming out either 12 or 17 percent ahead of Catania.

Why: Bowser’s comfy lead means one thing: time to party! Every elected official who’s ever said something nice about Bowser will turn out in Ward 7 tomorrow afternoon for the awkwardly syntaxed “#wedovote” rally. Handling the tonal shifts between Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and the “Housewives of Benning Road” will be host Antonio “The Cuban Cigar Smoker.”

Power Rankings Momentum: Tenuous.

2. David Catania

What: If you’ve got some time to kill, Catania campaign manager Ben Young will be happy to tell you all the reasons that he distrusts the latest polls. Bowser may have the polls, but in Young’s telling, Catania has voter enthusiasm on his side.

Then again, Bowser didn’t make it through the April primary by being bad at voter turnout.

Why: Catania supporters have some examples of historical poll-election dissonance to help them discount their candidate’s dismal numbers. Among the favorites: David Brat‘s upset over Eric Cantor, and Terry McAuliffe‘s squeaker gubernatorial election.

Power Rankings Momentum: Rising.

3. Carol Schwartz

What: Where do you take your campaign when it’s behind in money and voters? To the shores of the Anacostia River, apparently, where Schwartz stood earlier this week amongst old Gatorade bottles to outline her equality platform.

Unfortunately for Schwartz, her media attention has evaporated with the last of the major mayoral debates. Not counting LL, Tuesday’s speech drew just one reporter, a cameraman, and four supporters.

Which is too bad, because it also saw the public debut of a favorite Schwartz theory: that the Economic Growth D.C. poll that shows her floundering is suspect because Dave Oberting, the group’s executive director, tweeted positively about Catania nearly two years ago.

Why: Does Schwartz think she can win? Obviously, barring Catania and Bowser both dropping out, she can’t (and perhaps not even then). But Schwartz, no amateur at politics, publicly insists that she thinks that the fifth time’s the charm. It’s enough to make LL remember some of the more quixotic primary campaigns.

Was there ever a Schwartz path, however slim, to victory, readers? Have your say in the comments.

Power Rankings Momentum: Nostalgic.

Honorable Mentions: Nestor Djonkam, for running the most dignified campaign in fringe candidate history. The at-large candidate field, for being too enormous to poll. Attorney general candidate Lorie Masters, for shedding some blood in that race.

Photos by Darrow Montgomery