By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-26 15:46:38 | Updated at 2026-09-04 08:27:00
1 week ago
Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), lost a runoff on Aug. 25 for the final months of her father’s term, ending a bid that had led the first round of voting a month earlier.
Everton Blair Jr., a former chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, defeated Scott with 9,891 votes to 8,443—53.9 percent to 46.1 percent—according to unofficial results posted by the Georgia secretary of state’s office.
Blair carried one of the district’s six counties. He won Gwinnett, where he was first elected to the school board in 2018, by 5,707 votes to 2,440. Scott won the other five—Clayton, DeKalb, Henry, Newton, and Rockdale—by a combined margin of 1,819 votes. Blair’s margin in Gwinnett alone was 3,267.
Fewer people voted in the runoff than in the first round. Certified results from the July 28 all-party special election show 20,510 ballots cast, compared with 18,334 on Tuesday. Blair added 2,211 votes to his July total. Scott’s total fell by 998.
Scott finished first on July 28 with 9,441 votes, or 46 percent, and Blair placed second with 7,680, or 37.4 percent. Republicans Caesar Gonzales and Fayth Park drew 1,778 and 972 votes, respectively, and Democrat Carlos Moore drew 639. No Republican was on Tuesday’s runoff ballot.
Blair will hold the seat only until the current term ends on Jan. 3, 2027. He placed third in the May 19 Democratic primary for the full two-year term, which was won by state Rep. Jasmine Clark. Clark faces Republican Jonathan Chavez on Nov. 3.
Clark did not enter the special election, which would have cost her the state House seat she currently holds.
Georgia’s constitution bars officeholders from running for an office that begins more than 30 days before their current term ends. This would have been in effect just as Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was calling lawmakers back for a special session on redrawing congressional lines for 2028. Republican leaders did not take up redistricting once the session met.
David Scott died on April 22 at age 80. He was first elected to the House in 2002 and had qualified to run for a 13th term before his death. Kemp scheduled the special election for July 28, with a runoff between the top two finishers if no candidate cleared 50 percent.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin congratulated Blair in a statement released on Tuesday, describing him as an educator and lifelong Georgian and saying he would work to lower costs, expand access to healthcare, and protect Social Security and Medicare.
“As an educator, former Gwinnett County School Board Chair, and lifelong Georgian, Everton Blair is a proven champion who knows how to deliver for families throughout the state’s 13th Congressional District,” Martin said. “I know that Everton will be a congressman who always fights to put Georgia families first.”
Blair’s campaign said more than 30 elected officials from the district backed him, calling him “the only candidate ready on day one to stand up to Trump and fight for us in Congress.” His endorsers included Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Georgia House Minority Whip Sam Park and three candidates he had run against—state Sen. Emanuel Jones, Heavenly Kimes, and Joe Lester.
He campaigned on Medicare for All, a tax on households earning more than $50 million, universal child care, and federal spending on clean energy.
The Human Rights Campaign said in a post on X that Blair will be the first Black openly gay member of Congress from the South.
Blair posted on X after the race was called: “Thank you, GA-13! I am humbled by the trust you placed in me tonight. This victory belongs to every voter, volunteer, supporter, and neighbor who believed in our campaign.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
