House Incumbents Rarely Ousted - Atlanta Jewish Times

None of Georgia's 14 congressional races is considered among the most competitive nationally.

By Dave Schechter October 16, 2024, 11:46 am Edit

Dave Schechter is a veteran journalist whose career includes writing and producing reports from Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Few jobs offer the security enjoyed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2022, 94.5 percent of incumbents nationally won re-election. In 30 elections since 1964, the rate of re-election for House members has dipped below 90 percent just seven times and never below 85 percent.

Being a member of the U.S. Senate is only slightly less secure, but even there, the re-election rate hovers around 90 percent. Neither of Georgia’s two senators — Democrats Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, and Raphael Warnock — are on the ballot this year.

Republicans hold a 9 to 5 advantage in Georgia’s U.S. House delegation. None of Georgia’s 14 congressional races is considered to be among the most competitive nationally.

Republicans currently hold a 220 to 211 majority in the U.S. House, with four seats vacant.

Redistricting after the 2020 Census reflected a shift in the state’s population toward the Atlanta area and away from middle and south Georgia. Each representative in the 435-member U.S. House represents about 775,000 residents.

After a federal judge required the Republican-controlled state legislature to redraw the post-redistricting maps, the 6th congressional district became more favorable for Democrats and the 7th more favorable for Republicans. This prompted current representatives, Democrat Lucy McBath and Republican Rich McCormick, to change their plans.

In metro Atlanta races for U.S. House seats:
4th district: Incumbent Democrat Hank Johnson, seeking a 10th term, is being challenged by Republican Eugene Yu and Independent Ansell Postell.

5th district: Incumbent Democrat Nikema Williams, seeking a third term, faces Republican challenger John Salvesen.

6th district: McBath is seeking a fourth term and is being challenged by Republican Jeff Criswell and Democratic write-in candidate Elfreda Desvignes. (McBath won election from the 6th district in 2018 and 2020, and from a redrawn 7th in 2022. The most recent map change prompted her move to the redrawn 6th district.)

7th district: Incumbent Republican Rich McCormick is seeking a second term and faces challenges by Democrat Bob Christian and independent Charles King. (McCormick lost a general election bid in 2020 from the 7th district, then won election from a redrawn 6th district in 2022. (The most recent map change and McBath’s move to the 6th district prompted McCormick to seek election from the 7th district.)

9th district: Incumbent Republican Andrew Clyde, seeking a third term, faces Democratic challenger Tambrei Cash.

11th district: Incumbent Republican Barry Loudermilk, seeking a sixth term, is being challenged by Katy Stamper, who won the Democratic primary but espouses conservative positions more in line with the Republican Party. The state Democratic Party is urging a write-in vote for Tracey Verhoeven.

13th district: Incumbent Democrat David Scott seeking a ninth term and is being challenged by Republican Jonathan Chavez.

14th district: Incumbent Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is seeking a third term and is being challenged by Democrat Shawn Harris.