Marcye Scott Loses Runoff Election for Late Father's Congressional Seat

<p>Marcye Scott, the daughter of late Representative David Scott, D-Ga., lost her bid to succeed her father in Congress during a special election runoff held on Tuesday. Despite leading the first round of voting last month, Scott was defeated by Everton Blair, a former teacher and Gwinnett County school board chairman.</p><p>Blair won the runoff for the remaining months of David Scott's term in Georgia's 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of metro Atlanta. He will hold the seat until early January, when the winner of the upcoming general election will take office.</p><p>Blair had previously run in the primary for a full term but lost to Democratic state representative Jasmine Clark. Clark is set to compete against Republican Jonathan Chavez in the November election for the seat, which will officially begin in January 2027.</p><p>David Scott represented the district for over two decades before passing away on April 22 at the age of 80. At the time of his death, he was seeking a 13th term and faced a competitive primary challenge from Clark and others.</p><p>In the 2024 election, David Scott received approximately 72% of the vote in the district, while then-Vice President Kamala Harris garnered about 71% in the presidential race, compared to roughly 28% for President Donald Trump.</p><p>Marcye Scott entered the runoff after leading the special election on July 28 with about 46% of the vote, while Blair received approximately 38%, falling short of the majority needed to win outright.</p><p>Blair's victory reinstates voting representation for Georgia's 13th District, which has been without representation since David Scott's death. His former congressional offices remain open under the supervision of the House clerk to provide constituent services, according to the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.</p><p>Blair holds graduate degrees from Stanford and Harvard and previously worked with 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.</p>