Primary night in Georgia ended with the defeat of one member of Georgia’s congressional delegation: U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux.
The Suwanee Democrat was on the losing end of the incumbent vs. incumbent matchup in the primary in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, defeated by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Most other incumbents running for reelection won their primaries outright on Tuesday.
U.S. Reps. David Scott and Marjorie Taylor Greene faced challengers who said they were ineffective in Washington and should be replaced. But they easily won their primaries.
While U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop also coasted to victory in his primary, his true test will be in November when he will face a yet-to-be-determined Republican opponent. Bishop’s southwest Georgia district is the state’s only true toss-up seat, and the Republican primary is headed to a runoff to determine who will be Bishop’s general election opponent.
In the 6th Congressional District, the seat left open when McBath switched races to challenge Bourdeaux, the Republican primary is headed to a runoff featuring emergency room doctor Rich McCormick and attorney Jake Evans.
The state’s other open seat, the 10th Congressional District, also is headed to a runoff. The top two candidates on primary night were trucking executive Mike Collins and former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The other congressional incumbents who won their primaries were Republicans Rick Allen, Buddy Carter, Andrew Clyde, Drew Ferguson, Barry Loudermilk and Austin Scott, as well as Democrats Hank Johnson and Nikema Williams.
McBath rose to prominence as a gun control activist after the shooting death of her teenage son, and she decided to run for Congress in the wake of the mass shooting at a high school in Florida. She revamped her victory speech Tuesday after 19 Texas elementary school students were killed in a mass shooting.
“I came to give one speech, but I am now forced to make another because just hours ago, we paid for the weapons of war on our streets again with the blood of little children sitting in our schools,” she told the crowd. “We paid for unfettered gun access with phone calls to mothers and fathers who have gasped for air when their desperation would not let them breathe. Who have sunk to their knees when their agony just would not let them stand. It was a phone call that every parent fears.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
McBath took advantage of her national name recognition and deep-pocket political groups who backed her in the matchup. And although both incumbents have similar voting records, McBath is considered the more liberal of the two.
Bourdeaux faced criticism from liberal Democrats after she joined other centrists in the U.S. House in pushing to decouple two of President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities: the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better social spending and climate change package.
The infrastructure bill passed Congress and was signed into law, but Build Back Better continues to languish. Some liberal lawmakers and groups said Bourdeaux and the other centrists made it harder, if not impossible, to pass the measure this year.
Greene faced several opponents in her GOP primary who said that the controversies that led her to be stripped of her U.S. House committees were a distraction and that a different Republican could take the same conservative positions without ruffling so many feathers.
But voters in the northwest Georgia district stuck with Greene, handing her an easy win. During an election night speech, she said that she will be empowered in another term where Republicans look to take majority control of the U.S. House.
“So long as I’m in Congress you will always have a voice; you will always have a champion working for each and every single one of you,” she told supporters.
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
David Scott also faced challengers who campaigned on the desire to replace the incumbent, who is seeking an 11th term in office. But he dwarfed them in fundraising and spent the money on campaign ads and signs that touted his record in Washington and the popular job and health fairs he routinely holds in the district.
Jonesboro resident Thedy Kent said she knew of the criticism against Scott but voted for him anyway.
“I know the work that he’s doing to move people forward,” Kent said. “He’s been a good representative for Black people.”
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