Marcye Scott and Everton Blair lead crowded race to replace the late Ga. Rep. David Scott
TheGrio...
Georgia’s 13th Congressional District heads to a special election Tuesday, with a runoff likely if no candidate wins a majority.
Marcye Scott, daughter of the late U.S. Rep. David Scott, and former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair are among six candidates competing Tuesday to finish the Georgia Democrat’s term. The special election in Georgia could also have an immediate effect on the narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House.
Four Democrats and two Republicans appear together on the July 28 ballot in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. A candidate can win outright with more than 50% of the vote. Otherwise, the top two finishers, regardless of party, will advance to an Aug. 25 runoff.
Scott and Blair are joined by Democrats Tony Brown and Carlos Moore and Republicans Caesar Gonzales and Fayth Park. The winner will serve the remaining months of David Scott’s term.
Blair is the only candidate in the special election who also sought the district’s next full term. He finished third in the May 19 Democratic primary with about 12% of the vote. State Rep. Jasmine Clark won that primary with 56% and will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November.
Blair previously made history as the youngest and first Black person elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education. He worked as a high school mathematics teacher before serving on the board and later becoming its chair.
Marcye Scott enters the 13th District race seeking the seat her father held for more than two decades. David Scott represented the Atlanta-area district from 2003 until his death on April 22 at age 80. In 2021, he became the first Black lawmaker to chair the House Agriculture Committee.
Georgia’s 13th District includes portions of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale counties and strongly favors Democrats. David Scott won reelection with about 72% of the vote in 2024, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris received about 71% in the district.
Nearly 8,700 ballots had been cast by Friday, with the largest share coming from Gwinnett County. Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
The Georgia special election will decide who represents the district for the remainder of Scott’s term. Voters will return in November to choose between Clark and Chavez for the full two-year term beginning in January.