Everton Blair wins runoff to finish Rep. David Scott’s term

Blair defeated Marcye Scott 53% to 47%, according to unofficial results. The race garnered low voter turnout with about 20,000 of the district’s roughly 539,000 active voters casting ballots.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

David Scott died in Washington on April 22 hours after casting votes on the House floor. At age 80, he had served in the U.S. House for 23 years.

Blair campaigned on his ties to the district and his past experience in elected office, saying both were needed to ensure whoever completed Scott’s term could be effective during a short amount of time. He will spend roughly nine weeks in Washington because of a long recess before the midterm elections.

During that time, Blair will likely cast decisive votes on issues like extending government funding past Sept. 30, the ongoing war with Iran and the farm bill. He said he will represent the type of generational change that voters in the district craved.

“I do believe that we can elect a new generation of leaders that are able to communicate and add value and help us address this moment in a way that really sheds light on where we need to go as a country and what we can do collectively to get there,” he said.

Once he is sworn in, Republicans’ majority in the House will narrow back to a two-vote margin if all members are present.

Democrat Jasmine Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November’s general election to determine who will serve a full two-year term in the 13th District starting in January.