Georgia Democrats select party chair Nikema Williams to replace John Lewis on ballot

Atlanta, Georgia.
(Image credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Georgia Democrats on Monday selected Nikema Williams, a state senator and party chair, to replace the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died Friday, on the November ballot. Williams was one of five finalists under consideration to fill Georgia's fifth district House seat as the party's executive committee raced to choose a nominee under a legal deadline.

Williams, considered the frontrunner, was chosen in an overwhelming vote by the 44-member Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Committee. Speaking to the committee before the vote, she reportedly described herself as a protégé of Lewis — a civil rights icon — and said she would put herself on the line for her constituents "the same way Congressman Lewis taught us to do."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.