Marcye Scott and Everton Blair Jr. advanced to an August 25 runoff in Georgia’s special election to complete the 13th Congressional District term of the late U.S. Rep. David Scott. Neither candidate secured the necessary 50 percent majority among six contenders in Tuesday’s primary contest, setting up a late-summer showdown in the heavily Democratic metro Atlanta seat.
The Special Election Results and the Path to a Runoff
Voters across six metro Atlanta counties headed to the polls to decide who will fill the remaining months of the congressional term left vacant following the passing of David Scott in April at the age of 80. The late congressman had represented the solid-blue district for two decades, securing his final term in 2024 with approximately 72 percent of the support.
Because Georgia special elections place all candidates from every party onto a single ballot, the crowded field required an outright majority of more than 50 percent to avoid a secondary contest. With returns tallied across the district, Marcye Scott led the five-candidate primary field with 48.01 percent of the vote.
Trailing in second place, former Gwinnett County School Board Chairman Everton Blair II captured 35.59 percent of the vote. With neither candidate crossing the majority threshold, election officials confirmed that Scott and Blair will face off in a special runoff election scheduled for August 25.
Disqualified Ballots and the Wider Candidate Field
The all-party primary ballot initially featured six contenders, though administrative hurdles thinned the Democratic side of the ledger before polls opened. Democrat Tony Brown was disqualified from the race after the check he submitted for the $5,220 qualifying fee bounced, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, which noted that any votes cast for Brown would not be counted.
Beyond the top two finishers, the remaining candidate pool included Democratic attorney Carlos Moore alongside Republican contenders Caesar Gonzales and Fayth Park. Republican Caesar Gonzales finished a distant third in early tallies behind the two leading Democrats.
Balancing Unfinished Constituent Work and the Regular Term
The winner of the August runoff will not represent the district for long-term policymaking; rather, that individual will serve out the final weeks of the current congressional term. The separate question of who holds the seat for the full two-year term beginning in January was decided in a separate primary earlier this year, where state Representative Jasmine Clark secured the Democratic nomination.
For Marcye Scott, the campaign has centered on finishing her father’s pending legislative priorities and constituent casework. Having worked alongside her father for over two decades on campaign operations and community outreach, she emphasized that local leaders immediately sought guidance on ongoing projects following his death.
“Right after my dad passed, a lot of the City Council or the commissioners and chair people, they wanted to know what was going to happen with these projects,” Scott said following her father’s death, according the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. “And that’s really why I’m running: to complete that.”
Marcye Scott
On the opposing side of the runoff, Blair campaigned on his extensive background in educational leadership.
When the victor of the August runoff is sworn into office later this year, the addition will shift the mathematical balance within a narrowly divided U.S. House, injecting another Democratic vote into the chamber as parties prepare for the broader midterm elections.
