Janice Lewis George wins the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C

WASHINGTON (AP) — Janice Lewis George, who has vowed to stand strong in the face of federal interference in the affairs of Washington, D.C., won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the city’s mayoralty, setting up a potential showdown with the Trump administration over her moves to challenge the city’s limited autonomy.

In a heavily Democratic city, Lewis George is likely to finish first in the general election scheduled for November, replacing moderate Muriel Bowser, who has decided not to run again after three terms.

Lewis George joins Robert White Jr., who won the Democratic primary for the district’s delegate to Congress, as the top local officials most likely to address the federal government’s intentions regarding the city. Each campaigned on a promise to take a tougher stance than their predecessors against the Trump administration’s moves in the region, including deploying the National Guard on a sustained, open-ended mission aimed at fighting crime.

“As mayor, I will work with anyone who makes D.C. safer, but I will also stand up to Trump,” Lewis George told a crowd of cheering supporters Tuesday night.

Washington has limited self-government and federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including budget approval and laws passed by the D.C. Council.

President Donald Trump overrode that autonomy last year when he briefly federalized the city’s police forces and deployed a sustained increase in law enforcement that included the National Guard. Trump’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal government have also roiled the D.C. region, costing thousands of people their jobs. He also reshaped the city by renovating historical landmarks and placing his name or image on buildings.

Read more: The price of beating Trump’s endorsement, and other takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries

Louis George, a self-described democratic socialist and D.C. Council member, has come under fire from Trump, who last week threatened to put the city under federal control if she wins.

“Maybe we will take back Washington and run it on a federal basis,” he said.

Her main opponent, Kenyan McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, acknowledged the race on Thursday and said he called Lois George to congratulate her.

“While the final certification process will continue, it is clear that voters have chosen a different path,” he said in a statement. He wished Louis George success in the general elections and called on his supporters to continue working.

“The campaign may be over, but the work to build a safer, more affordable and more prosperous city continues,” he added.

Louis George, a 38-year-old third-generation Washingtonian, vowed to rescind the city’s police chief’s executive order allowing local law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Lewis George said it “harms the trust of our community.”

Read more: Live results: District of Columbia midterm primaries

Lewis-George also pledged to use any tools available to her through the city’s Home Rule Charter to resist what she described as authoritarian abuses of the area’s home rule.

“We have legal tools we can use to fight back,” she told The Associated Press in an interview before the vote. “And we know that when we went to court, we won.”

Bowser found herself walking a fine line between remaining in Trump’s shadow and responding to the concerns of voters, many of whom said she did not push back strongly enough on Trump’s actions. Meanwhile, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the 89-year-old 18-year-old congressional delegate, has faced growing concern from critics who say she is not aggressively pushing back on the Trump administration’s moves against the city.

Lewis George has also made affordability a top priority and her platform has included issues such as rent subsidies as well as ending paying less than minimum wage to tipped employees and controlling high utility rates.

Tuesday’s primary was the first time in a generation that D.C. residents voted for a new mayor and delegate in the same election. It was also the city’s first election to use ranked-choice voting.