Georgia’s 13th District Heads to Runoff Election

Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Rep. David Scott, and former Gwinnett County school board chair Everton Blair Jr. are heading to a runoff on August 25. This follows the special election to complete the term of the late Congressman Scott, who passed away in April at 80.

Election Results

The Associated Press reported that neither candidate secured the necessary 50% majority to win outright. Scott garnered 47.5% of the vote, while Blair received 36.1%. This announcement came around 8:45 p.m. Eastern, with 85% of the expected vote counted. Republican Caesar Gonzales lagged behind with 8.5%.

Runoff and Future Representation

The runoff will decide who fills the remaining weeks of the current term for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. However, it will not determine the representative for the next full term beginning in January. Voters already held a primary for that term in May, with the general election scheduled for November 3.

Rep. David Scott was seen outside the Capitol in December 2020, pictured with congressional members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

In the regular primary, Democratic State Rep. Jasmine Clark won with approximately 56% of the vote. She will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in the November general election. Blair, who also participated in the regular primary, finished third with about 12%.

Special Election Details

Georgia law requires a candidate to exceed 50% of the vote to win outright in a special election. Without a majority winner, the two leading candidates proceed to a runoff. The special election ballot included six names. However, Tony Brown was disqualified due to a bounced qualifying fee check.

The field consisted of Scott, Blair, Gonzales, attorney Carlos Moore, and Republican Fayth Park. Scott publicly announced her candidacy during her father’s funeral, focusing her campaign on continuing his federal funding requests. She emphasizes her experience working alongside him in campaign operations and community engagement over the last two decades.

Blair, the runoff challenger, was elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education in 2018 and served as board chairman in 2021. Blair, a former high school math teacher, holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University, and a master’s degree in policy, organization, and leadership from Stanford University. His campaign spotlights his education policy expertise and past elected contribution to the Gwinnett County school board.

House of Representatives Impact

The runoff winner in August will add another Democratic member to the closely matched House. Currently, Republicans possess 218 seats compared to 212 Democrats, with four seats vacant. Once the election winner is sworn in, the Democrats would hold 213 seats.

Georgia’s 13th District covers parts of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry, and Newton counties, including all of Rockdale County. In 2024, David Scott won the district with roughly 72% of the vote. During the presidential election that year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris collected approximately 71% of the vote in the district.

Alec Schemmel, reporting from the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area, provides coverage for Fox News Digital.