Everton Blair Jr. Wins Georgia 13th District Runoff

Former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair Jr. won a special election runoff on Tuesday to fill the House seat in Georgia's 13th Congressional District. Blair defeated Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late Representative David Scott, who had represented the district since 2003 until his death in April.

The runoff was triggered after a July 28 special election failed to produce a winner with a 50% majority; Marcye Scott had led that initial vote with 46% compared to Blair's 38%. Blair will serve only the remainder of the unexpired term, spanning approximately nine weeks through the end of the year.

Blair's victory, combined with a recent win by Aisha Wahab in California, reduces the Republican majority in the House to four members, leaving the balance at 218-214 with one independent and two vacancies. While Blair fills the immediate vacancy, he is not competing in the November 3 midterm elections. State Representative Jasmine Clark is the Democratic nominee and favorite to win the full two-year term against Republican nominee Jonathan James Chavez.