Paul Strauss
Paul Strauss (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate shadow delegates, District of Columbia, representing the District of Columbia. He assumed office on January 3, 1997. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.
Strauss (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate shadow delegates, District of Columbia to represent the District of Columbia. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 16, 2026.[source]
Biography
Paul Strauss was born in Brooklyn, New York. He obtained an undergraduate degree from the American University School of Public Affairs in May 1986 and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in May 1993. He served as ANC commissioner from 1986 to 1996. Strauss' professional experience includes working as an attorney in private practice. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. He is an honorary member of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia's Global Committee for the Rule of Law and a presidency member of the Unrepresented Nations and People's Organization.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: United States House of Representatives election in the District of Columbia, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 16, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia
Incumbent Paul Strauss (D) and Markus Batchelor (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia on June 16, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Paul Strauss | |
 | Markus Batchelor | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2020
See also: United States House of Representatives election in the District of Columbia, 2020
General election
General election for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia
Incumbent Paul Strauss defeated Eleanor Ory and Cornelia Weiss in the general election for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Paul Strauss (D) | 81.2 | 251,991 |
 | Eleanor Ory (G) | 10.0 | 31,151 | |
| Cornelia Weiss (R) | 7.8 | 24,168 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 3,154 | ||
| Total votes: 310,464 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia
Incumbent Paul Strauss advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Paul Strauss | 96.8 | 86,014 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.2 | 2,860 | ||
| Total votes: 88,874 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Green primary election
Green primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia
Eleanor Ory advanced from the Green primary for U.S. Shadow Senator District of Columbia on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eleanor Ory | 90.8 | 423 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 9.2 | 43 | ||
| Total votes: 466 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2020
Paul Strauss completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Strauss' responses.
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Senator Strauss has been responsible for some of the most innovative and effective efforts at advancing awareness and promoting education about DC's struggle for Statehood. His popular "51 Stars" Campaign features 51 famous celebrities, or "stars", from the world of entertainment, professional sports, and the arts appearing in Public Service Announcements promoting DC Statehood.
In 2015, Senator Strauss appeared before a panel of the UNPO (The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization), an international, nonviolent, and democratic membership organization, where he successfully petitioned to have the District of Columbia become the only North American member of that international body. Thanks to D.C.'s membership in the UNPO, worldwide attention was focused on DC's fight for statehood. The Senator's outreach to civic groups in Iowa led to unprecedented support by Grass-roots and elected leaders from that state generating national media attention.- Since Paul Strauss became DC's US Senator, the movement for DC Statehood has become stronger.
- Since Paul Strauss became DC's US Senator, the District of Columbia has become a more prosporous community.
- Senator Paul Strauss has been a critical leader in DC's fight against the COVID_19 public health emergency
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from the Federal Election Commission. That information will be published here once it is available.
2016 Democratic National Convention
Strauss was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from Washington, D.C.[2] Strauss was one of 26 superdelegates from Washington, D.C. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Ballotpedia was not able to identify whether Strauss supported Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic nomination.[3]
What is a superdelegate?
Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[4]
D.C. superdelegates
Washington, D.C., had a total of 26 superdelegates in 2016. All of them are listed below beneath the candidate they are known to have supported. As of June 6, 2016, 19 D.C. superdelegates were known to have expressed their support for Hillary Clinton, two supported Bernie Sanders, and the support of five superdelegates was unknown.
Clinton
- Carrie Pugh
- Harold Ickes
- James C. Boland
- Jeff Berman
- Karl Racine
- Lee Saunders
- Lily Eskelsen García
- Maria Cardona
- Minyon Moore
- Steve Regenstreif
- Arrington Dixon
- MaryEva Candon
- Earl Fowlkes
- Mary Beth Cahill
- Sunita Leeds
- Rick Wade
- Jeffrey David Cox
- Muriel Bowser
- Eleanor Holmes Norton
Sanders
Unknown
- Anita Bonds
- Donna Brazile
- Ed Potillo
- Paul Strauss
- Michael D. Brown (Washington, D.C., U.S. Shadow Senator)
Washington, D.C. primary results
Democrats held a presidential primary election in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2016.
| Washington, D.C. Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
 Hillary Clinton |
78% | 76,704 | 16 | |
| Bernie Sanders | 20.7% | 20,361 | 4 | |
| Rocky De La Fuente | 0.2% | 213 | 0 | |
| Other | 0.5% | 485 | 0 | |
| Under and over votes | 0.6% | 635 | 0 | |
| Totals | 98,398 | 20 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and D.C. Board of Elections | ||||
Delegate allocation
Washington, D.C., had 44 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 18 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[5][6]
Twenty-six party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[5][7]
See also
2026 Elections
Government
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 27, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
