Everton Blair Wins Runoff to Complete Late Congressman David Scott’s Term

Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Representative David Scott from Georgia, came up short in her attempt to finish her father’s Congressional term after Tuesday’s special election runoff. Although she led the initial round of voting, former teacher and Gwinnett County school board chairman Everton Blair won the seat in Georgia’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District.

Blair will occupy the position until early January when the winner of the general election takes office. Although Blair also sought a full-term, he was defeated by Democratic Georgia state representative Jasmine Clark in the primary. Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November for the seat, with the official term starting in January 2027.

David Scott had represented this district, which includes segments of metro Atlanta, for over two decades before passing away on April 22 at the age of 80. At that time, Scott was pursuing his 13th term amid a competitive primary challenge from Clark and others.

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

Marcye Scott entered Tuesday’s runoff after leading the July 28 special election with about 46% of the vote, falling short of the majority needed to win outright, which led to the runoff against Blair.

Blair’s victory reinstates voting representation in the 13th District, adding another Democratic vote to the closely split House for the remainder of the 119th Congress. Following David Scott’s death, his congressional offices remained operational under supervision, providing services to constituents as per the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to his campaign website, Blair holds graduate degrees from Stanford and Harvard, previously collaborated with the Obama administration’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence, and in 2018 became the first Black and youngest member elected to his county’s school board.