A special election filled the remainder of the term in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district in the 116th United States Congress. Incumbent representative John Lewis, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019, died on July 17, 2020, during his 17th term.[1][2][3]
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Georgia's 5th congressional district | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Hall: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||
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Background
editAs established by the Constitution of Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp ordered a special election to fill out the remainder of Lewis's term for September 29, 2020.[4] Since no candidate reached 50% on September 29, there was a special runoff election on December 1.[5] This meant that the runoff election took place four weeks after the regular election for a full two-year term. The runoff winner would thus serve for just one month covering the holiday season.
On July 20, 2020, the state Democratic Party announced that State Senator Nikema Williams would replace Lewis on the November ballot,[6] which she won with over 300,000 votes (85%). Williams did not run in the special election to serve the remainder of Lewis's term.[7]
Candidates
editDemocratic Party
editAdvanced to runoff
edit- Robert Michael Franklin Jr., former president of Morehouse College (2007–2012) and professor at Emory University[8]
- Kwanza Hall, former Atlanta City Councilman (2006–2017) and 2017 Atlanta mayoral election candidate[8]
Eliminated in blanket primary
edit- Barrington Martin II, educator, 2020 candidate in Georgia's 5th congressional district[8]
- Mable Thomas, state representative and former Atlanta City Councilwoman (1997–2003)[8]
- Keisha Waites, former state representative (2012–2017), 2020 candidate in Georgia's 13th congressional district[8]
Declined
edit- Meria Carstarphen, former Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools (2014–2020)[8]
- Nikema Williams, state senator and chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party (opted to run in the general election instead)[8]
Libertarian Party
editEliminated in blanket primary
edit- Chase Oliver, customer service specialist[8]
Independent
editEliminated in blanket primary
edit- Steven Muhammad, community organizer[8]
General election
editPredictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[9] | Safe D | August 21, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[10] | Safe D | August 21, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] | Safe D | July 23, 2020 |
| Politico[12] | Safe D | July 6, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[13] | Safe D | August 17, 2020 |
| RCP[14] | Safe D | June 9, 2020 |
| Niskanen[15] | Safe D | July 26, 2020 |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kwanza Hall | 11,104 | 31.75% | |
| Democratic | Robert Michael Franklin Jr. | 9,987 | 28.55% | |
| Democratic | Mable Thomas | 6,692 | 19.13% | |
| Democratic | Keisha Waites | 4,255 | 12.17% | |
| Democratic | Barrington Martin II | 1,944 | 5.56% | |
| Libertarian | Chase Oliver | 712 | 2.04% | |
| Independent | Steven Muhammad | 282 | 0.8% | |
| Total votes | 34,967 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kwanza Hall | 13,450 | 54.27% | |
| Democratic | Robert Michael Franklin Jr. | 11,332 | 45.73% | |
| Total votes | 24,782 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Veronica Stracqualursi (July 19, 2020). "What happens to John Lewis' vacant US House seat in Georgia". CNN. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ Perrett, Connor. "How Democrats plan to find a replacement for John Lewis on November's ballot by Monday". Business Insider. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ "The process of replacing Rep. John Lewis in the US House". 11Alive.com. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta lowering flags indefinitely to honor Rep. John Lewis". KSTP. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ Raymond, Jonathan (July 31, 2020). "Here's who qualified to run in the special election to fill John Lewis' seat". WXIA-TV – "11 Alive". Retrieved September 27, 2020.
- ^ Alex Rogers (July 20, 2020). "Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams picked to replace Lewis on November ballot". CNN. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ Panetta, Grace. "Nikema Williams is selected as the Democratic nominee to replace Rep. John Lewis on the ballot for November". Business Insider. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Raffensperger, Brad (August 13, 2020). "United States Representative District 5 Qualifying Candidate Information". Elections Secretary of State Georgia Government.
- ^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings for April 19, 2019". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Senate race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections releases initial Senate race ratings for 2020". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Negative Partisanship and the 2020 Congressional Elections". Niskanen Center. April 28, 2020. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ "Results Summary". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Results Summary". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
External links
edit- Robert Michael Frankin Jr. (D) for Congress Archived September 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- Kwanza Hall (D) for Congress