Democratic Runoff Set for Georgia House Seat After Scott’s Daughter, School Board Chair Fail to Win Outright

Marcye Scott, daughter of the late U.S. Representative David Scott, and Everton Blair, chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, will compete in a runoff election scheduled for August 25 to represent Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. Neither candidate secured the 51% threshold required to win outright in Tuesday’s special election, forcing the race into overtime.

The contest carries significant weight in the narrowly divided House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold 218 seats and Democrats command 212. A Democratic victory would further pressure the Republican caucus to maintain party discipline on legislation decided along party lines.

David Scott, 80, passed away in office during April. His death opened the seat, prompting his daughter to announce her candidacy shortly thereafter. Marcye Scott has centered her campaign on continuing her father’s work on roads, infrastructure, public safety and transportation, leveraging constituent outreach experience from her work in his office.

Blair, positioning himself as a counterweight to President Donald Trump’s agenda, has emphasized opposition to education cuts and Department of Education reductions. His platform includes Medicare-for-all, minimum wage increases and improved teacher compensation as leading priorities.

Republican candidate Caesar Gonzales did not advance, garnering only 8.7% of the vote. The runoff winner must still prevail in a November general election to secure a full term. Scott won his final election in 2024 with 71.8% of the vote against Republican Jonathan Chavez.