Unlike Brown's previous candidacies when he ran as a Democrat, Brown ran as an independent candidate. District law allows only three of the five at-large Council seats, including Chair, to be affiliated with the same political party. Chair Vincent Gray and Phil Mendelson, both Democrats, were not up for reelection in 2008, so only one of the seats up for reelection could be won by a Democrat. Democratic incumbent Kwame R. Brown was running for reelection and was likely to win, which made it nearly assured that the other seat up for election would go to a non-Democrat.