Everton Blair wins special election to serve out rest of late Rep. David Scott's term, AP projects

Residents of Georgia's 13th Congressional District have picked Everton Blair to serve the remainder of Rep. David Scott's term after the longtime lawmaker's death in April, according to the Associated Press.

Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, came in second out of the five candidates during the July 28 all-party special election with about 38% of the vote. In the runoff, he only had one other contender on the ballot, Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late congressman.

With his victory, Blair will serve out the remaining few months of David Scott's final term, set to end in January. While Blair did run for the full-term seat, he placed third in the May 19 Democratic primary with around 12% of the vote. 

As both candidates are Democrats, Blair's victory reduces an already-thin Republican majority in the House to five members. With a recent election in California and this election in Georgia, Republicans now only have four more members, though there is one independent, California Rep. Kevin Kiley, who continues to align with the GOP. There are two vacancies, one in Texas and one in Florida.

Voters will decide whether Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark or Republican Jonathan Chavez will serve a full term in November's general election.

The 13th District has typically been extremely favorable for Democratic candidates. Scott won his 2024 re-election bid with about 72% of the vote. That night, Democratic then-Vice President Kamala Harris received about 71% in the district, compared with about 28% for Republican then-former President Trump, in the presidential election.

As of Tuesday, there are 70 days until the 2026 midterm elections.