David Scott’s daughter to run to fill his Georgia House seat: Report
The daughter of the late U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) said she will run in the special election to succeed her father.
The Georgia lawmaker died this month , after more than two decades in Congress.
Marcye Scott told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week that she was considering launching a political bid this cycle before her father’s death. She told the outlet she now sees the special election as a way to carry on his legacy.
“I would love to be able to fill in the gaps for him,” she told the AJC. “I’ve got the experience — I can tell you that I know everything about the 13th District, just like him.”
“I think my father would come back to life and kick my butt if I didn’t,” she added.
Georgia’s 13th Congressional District covers portions of six counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The district has been a stronghold for Democrats, with the late Rep. David Scott easily defending his seat since his initial election in 2002.
He became the first Black lawmaker to chair the House Agriculture Committee in 2021, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called him a “trailblazer.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has yet to schedule a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat. The winner of this election would serve out the remainder of the current term through the end of 2026, after which the winner of the midterms would assume office.
State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D) is currently considered one of the top candidates in the November race, and he told the AJC that he would also consider running in the special election.
This would not be the first time that a lawmaker’s daughter has publicly considered running for their father’s seat.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) won a special election last fall to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, which was previously represented by her late father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Additionally, 85-year-old Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told The Washington Post last month that he would like his daughter, Jennifer Clyburn Reed, to run for his seat as he weighed a possible retirement. Clyburn later filed for reelection ahead of the state’s deadline.
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