Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. David Scott addresses a news conference about health care reform at the U.S. Capitol in 2009. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
U.S. Rep. David Scott, who served more than two decades in Congress and who was running for another term, has died.
“Alisha and I join all Georgians in mourning the passing of Congressman David Scott,” U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“The State of Georgia is a better place thanks to the service of Congressman Scott,” Ossoff said. “May his memory be a blessing.”
Scott, an Atlanta Democrat who was first elected to Congress in 2002, served as the first Black chair of the Agriculture Committee.
Scott qualified to run for re-election in March, meaning his name will appear on the ballot for the 13th congressional district race during the May state primary election, according to Mike Hassinger, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office.
Early voting for the race begins Monday and ballots for the May primary are already being mailed out to absentee and overseas voters, meaning it is too late for county election officials to remove Scott’s name from the ballot. Instead, Hassinger said, counties will post signs at all early voting and election day polling places notifying voters that any votes cast for Scott will not be counted in the official tally. Counties are also responsible for notifying absentee and overseas voters of the change.
Scott’s passing will also trigger a special election to fill the remainder of his term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2027. Under state law, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has 10 days to issue a writ of election to fill Scott’s seat.
