Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Representative David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, did not secure victory in her campaign to complete her father's congressional term. Despite leading the initial round of voting last month, Scott lost Tuesday's special election runoff.
Everton Blair, a former educator and chairman of the Gwinnett County school board, emerged victorious over Scott in the special election runoff for the remainder of the term in Georgia’s deeply Democratic 13th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of metropolitan Atlanta. Blair will serve in the position for the remainder of the current term, concluding in early January, when the victor of the November general election assumes office.
The Upcoming Full Term Election
Blair also participated in the primary election earlier this year to contend for a full two-year term but was defeated by Democratic Georgia state representative Jasmine Clark. Clark is now slated to face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November for the full two-year term, which is set to begin in January 2025.
Representative David Scott had served the district for over two decades until his passing on April 22 at the age of 80. At the time of his death, he had been campaigning for a thirteenth term and was facing a competitive Democratic primary challenge from Clark and other candidates.
The 13th Congressional District is a strongly Democratic area. In the 2020 elections, Representative Scott secured approximately 72% of the vote. That same year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won about 71% of the presidential vote in the district, while President Donald Trump received roughly 28%.
Runoff Details and District Representation
Marcye Scott advanced to Tuesday's runoff after securing approximately 46% of the vote in the initial July 28 special election, compared to Blair's roughly 38%. However, she did not achieve the majority required for an outright win, necessitating the runoff against Blair.
Blair's successful bid will reinstate voting representation for Georgia's deeply Democratic 13th District and provide an additional Democratic vote in the closely divided House of Representatives for the final months of the 119th Congress. The 13th District had been without voting representation since David Scott’s death, although his former congressional offices have remained operational under the supervision of the House clerk to provide constituent services, according to the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
About Everton Blair
According to information from his campaign, Blair holds graduate degrees from Stanford University and Harvard University. He previously contributed to the Obama administration’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence and, in 2018, became the first Black individual and the youngest-ever member elected to his county's school board.