Two Democratic candidates will face off next month for a special election runoff to serve Georgia’s 13th Congressional District for the rest of the year.
Candidates Marcye Scott and Everton Blair will go another round in August for a runoff because neither candidate secured more than 50% of the votes. Scott barely missed winning 50% of the vote by two percentage points, while Blair reeled in just under 36% of voters.
District 13 includes parts of six counties, including Clayton, DeKalb, Henry, Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale.
The runoff will determine who fills the seat left by Scott’s late father, U.S. Rep. David Scott.
The longtime congressmember died in April, and the recent election is to decide who finishes out the rest of his term. Scott held the seat since 2003.
Blair and Marcye Scott were among three other candidates on the ballot. Democrat Carlos Moore, along with Republicans Caesar Gonzales and Fayth Park, barely notched 10% of the votes collectively.
Blair also made a run for the Democratic nomination in the May primaries, hoping to be elected later to serve District 13 for a full two-year term. He came up short against state Rep. Jasmine Clark, who secured the nomination and will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November.
However, he says he feels good about heading to the runoff.
“We’ve been in this race for a long time …and I’m ready to show folks that we deserve new representation — change is on the horizon,” Blair told WABE following Tuesday’s election.
“I am ready and want to do everything I can. And no matter how long or how short the time frame may be to make sure we get the representation we deserve … we can do so much better than we are.”
Meanwhile, Marcye Scott could be the first-ever Black woman to occupy the seat if elected in August.
“It just looks like women are taking the lead in these types of roles, but it would be an honor to be the first to represent the 13th Congressional District,” she told WABE Tuesday night.
“We’re going to wake up and keep it moving …Some of the voter fatigue is a real thing. I’ve been doing this my whole life, so I’m just ready to keep it moving.”
The runoff is set for August 25.
