Everton Blair Wins Runoff to Succeed Late Rep. David Scott in Georgia’s 13th District

Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Representative David Scott, D-Ga., did not succeed in her bid to fill her father’s congressional seat. Despite leading in the initial round of voting, she lost in the runoff election held on Tuesday.

Everton Blair, a former teacher and Gwinnett County school board chairman, won the special election runoff. He will serve for the remainder of David Scott’s term in Georgia’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District. This district covers parts of metro Atlanta.

Blair will occupy the seat until early January when the winner of the November general election takes over. He also participated in a primary for a full-term but was defeated by Democratic state representative Jasmine Clark. In the November elections, Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez, with the winner starting their term in January 2027.

Everton Blair is running for U.S. Congress in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.

(Everton Blair for Congress)

David Scott held the district for over two decades before his passing on April 22 at age 80. At his time of death, he was running for a 13th term and was in a competitive Democratic primary against Clark among others.

In 2024, Scott secured the district with about 72% of the vote. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris received approximately 71% in the presidential race there, compared to 28% for President Donald Trump.

Marcye Scott entered the runoff having led the July 28 special election with around 46% of the vote, whereas Blair had about 38%. However, she didn’t achieve the majority needed to avoid the runoff.

Blair’s win restores voting representation for Georgia’s 13th District and adds a Democratic vote to the narrow House division for the remainder of the 119th Congress. Georgia’s 13th District has had no voting representation since Scott’s death. Yet, his congressional offices have remained operational, managed by the House clerk for constituent services, according to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of the Clerk.

Blair holds graduate degrees from Stanford and Harvard. He previously worked on the Obama administration’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence. In 2018, he became the first Black and youngest member elected to his county’s school board.