The special election to succeed the late Georgia Rep. David Scott is heading to an all-Democratic runoff after no candidate took more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s all-party primary.
With more than 95 percent of the vote in, Marcye Scott, the late congressman’s daughter, had 46 percent while former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair had 37 percent in the five-way contest for Georgia’s 13th District, according to The Associated Press. The two Democrats will next meet in an Aug. 25 runoff.
David Scott died in April at the age of 80, triggering the special election for the remainder of his term. His daughter joined the race for the suburban Atlanta district in May, making what appears to be her first bid for office. Her more prominent supporters include Rep. Nikema Williams and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young.
If Scott wins, she will be the second daughter to succeed her father in the 119th Congress, after Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special election last year for the late Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva’s seat.
Neither Scott nor Blair is running for a full term, so the runoff winner will only be in Congress through the end of the year. State Rep. Jasmine Clark won the regular Democratic primary in May, besting five other hopefuls, including Blair, who finished third.
Blair is the only special election candidate who also ran in the regular primary. He has the backing of Rep. Lucy McBath and, if elected, would be the first openly gay man to represent Georgia in Congress.
Georgia’s 13th District is one of four current vacancies in the House. Voters in California’s 14th District will pick a successor to former Rep. Eric Swalwell in a special election next month. The Republican governors of Florida and Texas have yet to schedule special elections for the respective seats of former Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Tony Gonzales.
