Everton Blair, a Democrat and former Gwinnett County School Board chair, won Georgia’s 13th District special election runoff yesterday, defeating Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Rep. David Scott, to fill the remainder of the congressman’s term in the U.S. House.
Blair secured approximately 53 percent of the vote to Scott’s 47 percent in the August 25 runoff, according to the Associated Press. The race was triggered after Rep. David Scott died on April 22, 2026, at age 80, following more than two decades of representing the Atlanta-area district.
The runoff came after neither candidate secured a majority in the July 28 general election, where Scott led with 46.8 percent and Blair finished third with 36.7 percent, forcing the two Democrats into a head-to-head matchup. Blair’s comeback from the initial third-place finish reflected a shift in voter preference between the two rounds.
Blair’s victory carries historic significance: he will become the first openly Black gay member of Congress from the South. Blair made earlier history in his local career when, at age 26, he became the first Black and youngest-ever member elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education in 2018, where he later served as Board Chair. He holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford.
The special election to replace Scott, who had held the seat since 2003, drew relatively low voter turnout, with about 20,500 votes cast in the runoff across the district’s roughly 750,000 registered voters. Georgia’s 13th District, which includes parts of metro Atlanta, has voted strongly Democratic in recent cycles, with President Kamala Harris receiving approximately 71 percent of the vote in the district in 2024.
Sources
- NBC News — reported Blair’s runoff victory and vote share
- The New York Times — confirmed the runoff results and Blair’s defeat of Marcye Scott
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — provided vote percentages and turnout figures
- PBS NewsHour — covered the general election results and runoff context
- CNN — reported on the July 28 general election results
- The Advocate — documented Blair’s historic status as first openly gay Black candidate from the South
- Ballotpedia — provided biographical details on Blair’s school board service and education
- BBC News — confirmed Rep. David Scott’s death on April 22, 2026, at age 80
