A Look At Georgia’s 5th U.S. Congressional District Special Election

Blogged by: @politickingtheapp

On September 29th, residents of Georgia’s 5th Congressional District will elect Georgia State Senator, Nikema Williams, or Conservative activist, Angela Stanton-King as the district’s interim representative. Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, called for a special election to fill the 5th Congressional District seat, in light of Lewis’ passing.

The Georgia Democratic party appointed their state chair, Nikema Williams, to replace John Lewis on the ballot in the Congressional race earlier this month. Throughout the last several years, she has climbed the ranks of the Georgia Democratic party. She represents the State Senate district that overlaps a large part of the 5th Congressional District that Lewis represented.

Williams gained recognition for her work in activism, most notably, having been arrested in 2018 while demonstrating against voter suppression during the midterm elections. Her activism also extends to women’s rights– she served as deputy political director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, an advocacy group representing nannies, house cleaners and other care workers. Before that, she was the Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Williams stands ideologically opposite her opponent, Angela Stanton-King. The Trump surrogate, author, and former convicted felon has vocalized her support for Conservative policies and legislation. She was pardoned by Trump over her role in a stolen car ring earlier this year, and shortly thereafter announced her candidacy for Congress. She has received frequent criticism for her position against gender choice for children and her condemnation of abortion rights.

Georgia state law mandates that the successful candidate in the special election will only serve through the end of this year. The general election, on November 3rd, will decide who serves the next full term representing Georgia’s 5th Congressional District.