McBath faces competition in bid to return to redrawn metro Atlanta congressional district

One of the most anticipated primary races this year is in the 6th Congressional District, a newly redrawn majority-Black district.
The Georgia House of Representatives votes on a new state House district map, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Georgia voters head to the polls Tuesday for the final day of this primary election cycle to determine who makes it to November’s general election for Georgia’s 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

One of the most anticipated races is in the 6th Congressional District, a newly redrawn majority-Black district with a Democratic primary featuring three elected officials who are all Black women. The incumbent, Republican U.S. House Rep. Rich McCormick, is switching districts to run in the now-heavily Republican 7th district.

Lawmakers were forced to redraw Georgia’s political maps approved during the 2021 redistricting cycle after a federal judge found that they violated the Voting Rights Act by illegally diluting the power of Black voters. Last December, the Republican majority proposed and approved a congressional map that creates the new 6th district on the west side of metro Atlanta.

Georgia Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, looks at a map of proposed state House districts before a House hearing, Nov. 29, 2023, at the state Capitol in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)