Everton Blair has defeated Marcye Scott in a special election runoff to fill the remaining months of the late Rep. David Scott's term in Georgia's 13th Congressional District. The victory restores voting representation to the heavily Democratic district, which covers parts of metro Atlanta.
Blair, a former teacher and Gwinnett County school board chairman, will hold the seat through early January. The winner of the upcoming November general election will then assume the full term beginning in 2027.
Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late congressman, had led the first round of voting on July 28 with approximately 46% of the vote, while Blair secured about 38%. However, Scott did not achieve the majority needed to win outright, necessitating the runoff.
Rep. David Scott represented the district for over two decades before his death on April 22 at age 80. He had been seeking his 13th term and was facing a primary challenge from Georgia state representative Jasmine Clark and others at the time of his passing.
In 2024, Scott won the district with about 72% of the vote, and then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried it with roughly 71% in the presidential race. The district's voter registration data indicates a strong Democratic lean.
Blair's campaign highlighted his graduate degrees from Stanford and Harvard, his previous work with the Obama administration's White House Initiative on Educational Excellence, and his record as the first Black and youngest member elected to his county's school board in 2018.
Georgia's 13th District has been without voting representation since Rep. Scott's death. His former congressional offices have continued to provide constituent services under the supervision of the House Clerk.
Blair also competed in the primary for a full term but lost to Jasmine Clark. Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November for the seat that begins its next official term in January 2027.
