New Voices Highlight Metro Congress Races
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New Voices Highlight Metro Congress Races

Beyond the anticipated close races in the 6th and 7th, at least two other districts will elect new representatives.

By Dave Schechter October 16, 2020, 6:19 am Edit

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

  • Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene
    Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene
  • Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
    Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
  • Democrat Nikema Williams
    Democrat Nikema Williams
  • Hank Johnson (D)
    Hank Johnson (D)
  • Johsie Cruz (R)
    Johsie Cruz (R)

The death in July from pancreatic cancer of 80-year-old Democratic Rep. John Lewis, who was seeking an 18th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, changed the lineup in the 5th Congressional District race.

A special election held Sept. 29 to fill the several weeks remaining of Lewis’ term instead resulted in a runoff to be held Dec. 1. Kwanza Hall, a member of the Atlanta City Council, received 32 percent of the vote, and Robert Franklin, a minister and former president of Morehouse College, 28 percent, to advance from a field of seven candidates.

Democrat Nikema Williams

One of these two African American men, both Democrats, will hold the seat until the winner of the Nov. 3 general election between two African American women, Democrat Nikema Williams and Republican Angela Stanton-King, takes her seat in Congress in January. The trend of a Democrat representing the 5th is expected to continue.

Williams is the chair of the Democratic party of Georgia and represents state Senate District 39 in the Georgia General Assembly. She was selected by the party to replace Lewis on the general election ballot. Stanton-King was pardoned in February by President Donald Trump after serving two years in prison and six months of home confinement on a 2004 conviction on federal conspiracy charges for her role in a car theft ring. She became an author and television personality and is an ardent supporter of Trump.

The 5th District is comprised of central Fulton County and parts of DeKalb and Fulton counties, taking in three-fourths of Atlanta.

Democrat Hank Johnson

Elsewhere in the metro area, Democrat Hank Johnson is favored to defeat Republican Johsie Cruz and win an eighth term in the House from the 4th District, which is comprised of Rockdale County and sections of DeKalb, Gwinnett and Newton counties.

In the 11th District, Democrat Dana Barrett, a former WGST radio host, who is Jewish, faces an uphill challenge in her effort to unseat three-term Republican incumbent Rep. Barry Loudermilk. The 11th is comprised of the majority of Bartow and Cherokee counties, and a large portion of Cobb County.

In the 13th District, nine-term incumbent Democrat David Scott faces Republican Becky Hites and Libertarian Martin Cowen. The 13th is made up of Douglas County and parts of Clayton, Cobb, Fayette, Fulton and Henry counties.

The race in the 14th District, one of the most conservative congressional districts in the country, has been marked by controversy and upheaval.

Republican Rep. Tom Graves previously announced that he would not seek re-election and then, on Sept. 11, announced that he would step down at the end of October, three months early. Also on Sept. 11, the Democrats’ candidate in the general election, Kevin Van Ausdal, announced that he was withdrawing from the race. The secretary of state’s office said that, because the withdrawal happened within 60 days of the election, he could not be replaced on the ballot by another Democratic candidate.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene

Meanwhile, the Republican candidate, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has received national attention for her propensity to tout QAnon conspiracy theories, including some involving Jews, in particular financier George Soros and the Rothschild family. The Republican Jewish Coalition backed Greene’s opponent in the Aug. 11 runoff and said it would not support her in the Nov. 3 general election. Nonetheless, Greene appears headed for the U.S. House.

The 14th covers much of northwest Georgia, taking in Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Pauling, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties, and part of Pickens County.

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