State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Lilburn Democrat, is likely to win November’s general election to take over the seat once held by U.S. Rep. David Scott.
But there is also a special election underway to determine who will finish out Scott’s term that ends in January; he died in his Washington home on April 22.
One of his daughters, Marcye Scott, is among the four Democrats who qualified for this 13th Congressional District race. So did former Gwinnett County School Board Chairman Everton Blair, the only candidate who ran for a full term to also qualify in the special election.
There are also two Republican candidates.
Because it is a special election, all candidates will appear together on the ballot on July 28, with early voting starting on Monday.
If no one receives more than half of the votes, the top two will go to an Aug. 25 runoff.
The 13th District is heavily Democratic; Scott won reelection in 2024 with about 72% of the vote. It stretches around the perimeter of Atlanta’s suburbs from Gwinnett down to DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton, Henry and Clayton counties.
Here’s a look at the candidates.
Democrats
Everton Blair Jr.
Credit: Melissa Golden
Credit: Melissa Golden
Blair made history in 2018 when, at 26, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Gwinnett County School Board. He would later become the first Black person and first openly LGBTQ+ person to be chair of Georgia’s largest school district.
He did not run for reelection in 2022, instead opting to briefly run for state schools superintendent. The Lilburn resident withdrew from that race to complete a doctorate program in education leadership at Harvard.
His tenure at the Gwinnett School Board was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, including a fierce backlash over mask requirements for students and staff.
He finished in third place in the April primary to determine who would fill Scott’s seat for a full two-year term.
Tony Michael Brown
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Brown also says he has decades of experience in law enforcement. He has run unsuccessfully in Henry County for state House, sheriff and coroner.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Carlos Moore
Moore initially said he would compete in the primary for a full two-year term in Georgia’s 13th, but he ultimately did not qualify in that race. He later decided to run in the special election to complete Scott’s term.
Moore once served as a municipal judge in Mississippi, but that state’s Supreme Court removed him from the bench after finding comments he made on social media and in media interviews violated judicial performance standards.
He later moved to the Atlanta area and opened his own law firm.
Marcye Scott
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Scott is the youngest of late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s two daughters, and said she is running to help solidify his legacy. Scott cites issues close to her father’s heart, like $40 million in earmarks he requested for projects across his district and scholarship program for students at historically Black colleges and universities.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University, her dad’s alma mater, and a master’s in public administration from Texas Southern University.
Scott is a design consultant by trade and has never held political office before. She lives in downtown Atlanta and, like her father, has faced criticism for not living in the district. Federal law only requires U.S. House members to live in the state they represent.
Republican
Caesar Gonzales
Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate
Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate
Caesar Gonzales is a mechanical engineer based in Douglas County, where he ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in 2024.
Gonzales lost to Scott in the general election for the 13th District in 2022 and also ran for the seat in 2020, losing in the GOP primary.
His platform is based in part on rooting out fraud and corruption in government, and he backs term limits for members of Congress.
Fayth Elizabeth Park
Credit: Fayth Park Campaign
Credit: Fayth Park Campaign
Fayth Park, a Clayton County resident, is running on a platform of addressing affordability and family values as a conservative lawmaker.
She is a social media marketing manager, life coach and a high school girls wrestling coach.
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