Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Congressman David Scott from Georgia, was unsuccessful in her attempt to fill her father’s position in Congress. Despite being the leader in the initial round of voting, Scott fell short in the runoff election held on Tuesday.
Everton Blair, a former teacher and chairman of the Gwinnett County school board, won the runoff election for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. This heavily Democratic district includes parts of metro Atlanta. Blair will occupy the seat until early January, when the winner of November’s general election will take over.
Although Blair ran in the primary to secure a full-term, he lost to Democratic Georgia state representative Jasmine Clark. Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November’s general election, with the term starting in January 2027.
David Scott had represented the district for over twenty years before he passed away on April 22 at the age of 80. At the time of his death, Scott was aiming for a 13th term amid a challenging Democratic primary against Jasmine Clark and others.
In the 2024 elections, Scott held the district with approximately 72% of the vote. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris gained about 71% of the vote in the presidential race there, compared to roughly 28% for President Donald Trump.
Marcye Scott entered the runoff after leading the July 28 special election with around 46% of the vote, while Blair trailed her with about 38%. However, Scott did not achieve the majority required for a direct win, leading to the runoff against Blair.
Blair’s victory restores voting representation to Georgia’s 13th District and sends another Democratic vote to the House for the remainder of the 119th Congress. Georgia’s 13th District had been without voting representation since Scott’s death, though David Scott’s former congressional offices provided ongoing constituent services under the House clerk’s supervision.
Everton Blair holds graduate degrees from Stanford and Harvard and worked with the Obama administration’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence. Notably, in 2018, Blair became the first Black and youngest member elected to his county’s school board.