2 Georgia Democrats are competing Tuesday to serve the final month of Rep. John Lewis' term


Georgia's 5th Congressional District is holding a runoff election Tuesday in which two Democrats are vying for the chance to serve a month in Congress, before handing the seat off to Nikema Williams, the Democratic state senator who won the seat Nov. 3. In Tuesday's election, former Atlanta City Council member Kwanza Hall and former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin — the top two vote-getters from September's seven-person primary — are competing go serve out the remainder of the late Rep. John Lewis' (D-Ga.) final term in office, which ends Jan. 3.
Lewis, a civil rights icon and the last living speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, died from pancreatic cancer in July at age 80. He had represented the Atlanta-area seat in Congress since 1987. The winner of Tuesday's runoff — Hall, 49, or Franklin, 66 — won't do much more than vote on a stopgap budget and, if the stars align, a COVID-19 relief package. "It's about moral leadership at a time of national crisis," Franklin said, pointing to the examples from Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr.
Turnout isn't expected to be high — fewer than 31,000 people voted in September's primary, The Associated Press notes. Franklin has raised $282,000 for his bid, including a $65,000 loan, and Hall has raised $194,000.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Malaysia's delicious food and glorious beaches
The Week Recommends From 'colourful' George Town to the 'jungled interior' of Langkawi, Malaysia is incredibly diverse
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'