Two Democratic candidates locked in a race to fill the seat left by the late Rep.David Scott, D-Ga., advanced to a runoff election on Tuesday evening after failing to capture 51% of the vote.The winner of the election will add another Democratic seat in a narrowly divided House of Representatives where Republicans hold 218 seats and Democrats control 212.
Adding even one more Democratic member puts increased pressure on Republicans to remain united on party-line legislation.Marcye Scott, the daughter of David Scott, and Everton Blair, chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, will face off against each other in a runoff to represent the Peach State’s 13th Congressional District on Aug.25.DAUGHTER OF LATE HOUSE DEM FORCED INTO RUNOFF AFTER FALLING SHORT IN SPECIAL ELECTIONDavid Scott, a Democrat from Georgia, speaks during a Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 23, 2017.
(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)A third candidate, Caesar Gonzales, a Republican, did not advance, receiving only 8.7% of the vote.Georgia’s 13th Congressional District House seat became open when David Scott, 80, died in office back in April.His office did not disclose a cause of death.Shortly after his death, Marcye Scott announced her candidacy to fill his seat, pitching herself as the best candidate to continue her father’s legacy.DEMOCRAT REP DAVID SCOTT DEAD AT 80Marcye Scott, daughter of the late-Rep.
David Scott, campaigns with voters amid her bid to replace her father.(Marcye Scott for Congress)"That would be what I definitely want to do, to make sure that his voters, his constituents, do not miss out on what he was offering," Scott said.Scott has made roads and infrastructure, public safety and transportation key priorities of her campaign, highlighting constituent outreach work she did for her father.For his own part, Blair has pitched himself as a candidate looking to push back on President Donald Trump’s cuts to ...