[...] three weeks before the 2014 Democratic primary — the only local election that matters in what is essentially a one-party town — a prosecutor said in court that Gray knew about an illegal slush fund that aided his 2010 campaign.
[...] with Wednesday's announcement that federal prosecutors decided not to charge Gray with a crime after investigating his 2010 campaign, he appears poised to return to politics.
The most serious revelations involved a $660,000 slush fund that an influential businessman used to boost Gray's get-out-the-vote efforts.
The city enjoyed low crime, an increasing population and a booming real estate market during his tenure, and Gray maintained the key school reform measures launched under Fenty.
[...] the succession of Gray campaign aides who pleaded guilty, along with criminal convictions against three council members for unrelated crimes fueled perceptions that the local government was hopelessly corrupt even as the city thrived.
Both are mainstream Democrats with liberal views on social issues and ties to the business community.
Bowser's supporters believe she would have defeated Gray even without the revelations from the U.S. Attorney's office, pointing to her 10-percentage-point margin of victory and her support across broad swaths of the city.
