Franklin Garcia, a Democrat from the Woodridge neighborhood of Ward 5, is running for U.S. House of Representatives shadow member for the District of Columbia. He faces Republican Ciprian Ivanof in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Under D.C. Code § 1-123, the shadow representative informs Congress about D.C.'s qualifications for statehood, monitors the statehood petition, reports to District residents and may advise the District on statehood policy. The position does not carry a congressional vote.

Garcia previously held the office from 2015 to 2021, according to BallotReady profile data.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Neighborhood: Woodridge, Ward 5, according to his campaign website
  • Born: May 24, 1969, according to Wikipedia
  • Education: High school diploma, Montgomery Blair High School; bachelor's degree in finance, George Washington University, 1992; master's degree in economics, American University, 1996

Garcia said on his campaign website that he came to Washington with his parents and sister at age 10.

Experience and public service

Garcia served as shadow representative from 2015 to 2021, according to BallotReady. BallotReady also lists roles as senior systems administrator at BAE Systems IT and senior network engineer at Computer Sciences Corporation.

Garcia said on his campaign website that he is president of the DC Latino Leadership Council, president and founder of the DC Latino Caucus, and a member of the DC Democratic State Committee. He also said he is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

In media, Garcia said on his campaign website that he founded the television show DC Statehood Today and works as a producer on the show ReporteroiRD. He said he has written for El Ojo Latino. BallotReady also lists him as founder of the DCiReporter TV Show.

On the issues

D.C. statehood

Garcia has made statehood his central public issue. On his campaign statehood page, he said residents of the nation's capital pay more federal taxes per capita than any other state yet have no voting representation in Congress. He described the situation as taxation without representation and said he would not stop pursuing the admission of Washington as the 51st state.

Candidate information was drawn from Garcia's campaign website, BallotReady profile data, Wikipedia and BallotReady election data. Policy statements reflect the candidate's own public campaign materials. The Capital City Post did not interview the candidate for this profile.