Marcye Scott, the daughter of late Rep.David Scott, D-Ga., and former Gwinnett County school board chair Everton Blair Jr.
advanced Tuesday to an Aug.25 runoff in the special election to serve the remainder of the late Congressman Scott's term before the winner of November’s regular election takes office for a full-term beginning in January.Neither candidate captured the 50% majority needed to win the seat outright, according to the Associated Press, which called the race around a quarter to 9 o'clock East Coast time.
Scott had received 47.5% of the vote and Blair had received 36.1% when the race was called around 8:45 p.m.eastern, with 85% of the expected vote counted.
Republican Caesar Gonzales was far behind in third with just 8.5%.The runoff will determine who serves the final weeks of the late-Congressman's term in the heavily Democratic metro Atlanta 13th Congressional District following his death in April at age 80.It will not determine who represents the district for the next full two-year term beginning in January; voters held a separate primary for that term in May, with the general election set for Nov.
3.SUCCESSION: WHY CONGRESS HAS NO CLEAR PLAN WHEN LAWMAKERS CAN’T SERVERep.David Scott, D-Ga., incoming chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is seen on the House steps of the Capitol on Friday, December 4, 2020.
Scott was outside for group photo with congressional members of of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)Democratic state Rep.
Jasmine Clark won the regularly scheduled May primary for the full term with roughly 56% of the vote and will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November.Blair, the only special-election candidate who also competed in that regular May primary, finished third with approximately 12%.Regardless of party affiliation, all candidates appeared together on one special-election ballot Tuesday.
Georgia law allows a candidate who receives more than 50% to win outright, but s...