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.
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.
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
Political cartoons for November 26Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include a peace deal for Ukraine, constitutional oaths, and the I.R.S. explained
-
Vaccine critic quietly named CDC’s No. 2 officialSpeed Read Dr. Ralph Abraham joins another prominent vaccine critic, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
