Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath announced Monday that she would run for a new district in the Atlanta suburbs against fellow Democrat Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux after the Republican controlled-state legislature redrew McBath’s district to make it a safely red seat.
Georgia Republican legislators created a map that would drastically change the lines of the two competitive seats north of Atlanta held by the two Democrats. If Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signs it into law and the map survives potential challenges in court, it would essentially give the GOP a 9-5 advantage in the state, rather than the current 8-6 advantage.
In a statement, McBath claimed that Republicans were trying “to draw me out of Congress.”
Following the 2012 murder of her son Jordan Davis, McBath quit her job as a Delta flight attendant to work as an activist with Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. In 2018, McBath ran for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s old seat and beat Republican Rep. Karen Handel by a point and beat her again in a 2020 rematch by over nine points.
“It is no mystery why Republicans and the NRA have decided I’m their top target,” McBath said. “As a Black woman, activist, and mother on a mission—they would like nothing more than to stop me from speaking truth to power about the gun lobby and Republican Party in Congress.”
In 2018, Bordeaux, a former Georgia State University professor, won a close Democratic primary before losing to Republican Rep. Rob Woodall by fewer than 500 votes. After Woodall retired, Bordeaux won her 2020 race against Republican Dr. Rich McCormick by about three points.
Bordeaux said she has strong ties to the Gwinnett county-based district, and worked to “expand Medicaid, lower healthcare costs, create universal pre-K and address our unique transit needs,” while securing loans for small businesses.
“Georgia’s 7th district deserves a representative that understands their issues,” Bordeaux said. “I’ve run five elections here, and I have deep connections with the diverse communities in our district.”
The-CNN-Wire
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