This year’s Washington, D.C. ballot will feature three Howard alumni running for mayor: Kenyan McDuffie, Janeese Lewis George and Talib Karim Muhammad.
On Dec. 19, 2025, Karim Muhammad officially announced his candidacy in the 2026 mayoral race, against 10 others, including former councilmember at-large McDuffie, and former ward four councilmember Janeese Lewis George. As a former engineer, entrepreneur and lawyer, Karim Muhammad’s journey to the candidacy was not entirely straightforward.
Karim Muhammad originally transferred to Howard from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he hoped to become an astronaut. As one of the only Black cadets in the astronautical engineering program, he left because of a discriminatory environment.
“Even as a student at the Air Force Academy, we were looking at Howard’s involvement in student protest,” he said, referring to the 1989 protests against the board of trustees. “Howard was a special place for Black students all over the country at that time.”
At 17, Karim Muhammad’s mother died, followed by his father ten years later. His sister lived with him after graduating from law school in 1995, and he felt that the love his parents showed him during his life prepared him for such an early responsibility.
“We had such an investment made by our parents that even though we were orphans, we were able to stick together,” said Karim Muhammad. During that time of loss, Karim Muhammad said his Howard community supported him and his family, three of whom also attended the university during his matriculation.
“Howard embraced us. It supported us, it guided us, it clothed us. We learned our faith through MSA [Muslim Student Association], and it was a beautiful environment,” Karim Muhammad said.
As an undergraduate student, Karim Muhammad was also involved with the Howard University Student Association (HUSA) as the community outreach coordinator and interned for the Congressional Black Caucus. By his senior year, Karim Muhammad wanted to start a private astronautical company, and decided applying to the Howard University School of Law would be his best route. As a law student, Karim Muhammad served on the Graduate Student Association and wrote for The Hilltop.
Since graduating from Howard’s Law School in 1995, Karim Muhammad has worked across the public sector as a policy counsel to former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and senior counsel on the Committee for Veterans Affairs. Karim Muhammad also founded Abe Legal, which he characterised as “Uber for Lawyers,” a software platform that pairs individuals with legal aid.
In 2013, Karim Muhammad founded STEM4US! a non-profit organization to assist educational institutions in training students for careers in STEM and artificial intelligence (AI) fields.
“The only reason, to be quite candid, that I am running for mayor, is because of this program,” said Karim Muhammad.
He first became interested in running for mayor after the city council approved the first stage of the RFK complex project, centering on the redevelopment of the former Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. According to the initial proposal, the project would be funded in part with over a billion dollars directly from the district’s public revenue. While Mayor Muriel Bowser has championed the project’s thousands of housing units and SportsPlex, many residents, such as the over 500 who testified in a hearing surrounding the project, remain wary of the price tag.
Karim Muhammad was angered that his efforts to include STEM4US! in D.C.’s annual budget had fallen on deaf ears two years in a row, which his mentor attributed to the city council’s alleged persuasion by billionaire interests.
His mentor was the first to recommend Karim Muhammad run for mayor. Karim Muhammad didn’t fully take the proposition seriously until after seeing Zohran Mamdani’s success in the New York City mayoral race.
“[Karim Muhammad’s mentor] was like, ‘if he can come out of nowhere and be on his way to becoming the mayor of New York, you have enough background to do the same here in Washington,” said Karim Muhammad.
Karim Muhammad runs on a platform of “A Safe, Affordable, and Free D.C.,” incorporating novel amounts of AI into his proposed policy implementations.
Karim Muhammad focuses specifically on family policy and envisions many interfamilial issues being solved through the tap of a phone. Through his proposed Universal Basic Income App, parents will be able to receive incentives for engaging in “family stability training.” Families will be provided with annual marriage bonuses, and health insurance will be required to cover marriage counseling. Karim Muhammad sees the proliferation of the traditional family as a cure to longstanding urban issues.
“What we want to do is support the reestablishment of the village of our homes in D.C.,” said Karim Muhammad, who attributes the below national-average test scores in reading, science and math to a lack of proper parenting styles. Part of this policy would also include mandatory parent education and licensing for new parents.
“Success looks like having parents who are ready for parenthood,” said Karim Muhammad, who was transparent in his belief that successful families are led by a father and mother, a stance rooted in his own experience with D.C.’s family court.
In 2008, Karim Muhammad was served with a Civil Protection Order (CPO) following a dispute in his first marriage to his Howard sweetheart. While he maintains his innocence, he uses the experience to highlight a systemic failure.
“I know this system not just as a lawyer who has represented parents, but as a parent who has seen its impact firsthand,” he says.
According to Karim Muhammad, D.C. courts often evict fathers from homes without offering mediation or counseling, which can lead children from family court to juvenile and criminal courts. Karim Muhammad believes fathers are intentionally given less of a role in such situations.
“Dads are prevented from receiving school information and lose contact with their children,” said Karim Muhammad.
If elected, he hopes to replace the current system with one focused on family restoration.
“You can’t just have a bunch of social workers and think that’s going to be the village of the child,” Karim Muhammad added.
Much of Karim Muhammad’s inspiration to run for mayor comes from his parents, Talib Karim Muhammad and Linah Karim Muhammad, who were politically active throughout their lives. Karim Muhammad’s father became the first muslim to hold a publicly elected seat in Tennessee as a Memphis city councilmember. According to Karim Muhammad, the couple met in Washington, D.C., during a civil rights-era march.
“My parents are just the type of parents I’m talking about,” said Karim Muhammad, who grew up learning at a daycare that the two built into their home, where he learned about Black history and developed his love of technology.
Hudson Byrne, a student at Seattle University, is one of Karim Muhammad’s many student volunteers driving his campaign efforts. Byrne was especially drawn to Karim Muhammad’s clear stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“My biggest reason for supporting him is because of where he is sourcing his money from,” said Byrne. “It’s honest, and it’s from actual people and small donors who actually believe in his campaign,” said Byrne.
While Byrne was raised in California, he believes D.C.’s lack of statehood is an injustice.
“It’s so insane to me that a place like D.C. with so many people is getting taxed that heavily and they can’t even vote on it,” said Byrne.
One of Karim Muhammad’s many promises is achieving D.C. statehood within the first two years of his administration, a feat he hopes to achieve by allotting 11 percent of the city’s budget to a statehood campaign.
“The reason why we’re not a state is that we have not summoned the will,” said Karim Muhammad, before referencing the $250,000 D.C. currently spends on statehood efforts.
Karim Muhammad must get the top two votes in the D.C. mayoral primary, set for June 16. Nine other city-wide positions are also up for election.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to accurately represent all D.C. mayoral candidates with ties to Howard University and to include candidate response to an allegation referenced in the article.
