Georgia’s 13th Congressional District holds special election runoff to fill seat left vacant by late Rep. David Scott

Georgia’s 13th Congressional District is holding a special election runoff on Tuesday to replace the late Democratic Rep. David Scott, who died April 22. The runoff determines who will win the seat for the district, with PBS NewsHour providing live updates as election officials report results.

The election follows Scott’s death, which created a vacancy in the U.S. House seat for Georgia’s 13th District. Scott’s absence from Congress set in motion the state’s process for scheduling a special election and then a runoff if no candidate achieved the threshold needed to win outright in the initial contest.

With voters casting ballots in the runoff, election administration in Georgia moves from the initial tally to a final, district-wide selection. As ballots are counted and reported, PBS is publishing ongoing results coverage aimed at tracking turnout and vote totals as they come in.

The runoff is taking place in the district outside of Atlanta that includes the 13th Congressional District’s communities, and the winner will be seated as the district’s representative in Washington once election certification is completed. The timing of certification and any remaining procedural steps are handled under Georgia’s election rules and the federal timetable for seating members.

While the broader political context includes party control of House seats, the immediate practical stakes for the district are institutional: voters are choosing who will hold the Congress role vacated by Scott’s death, affecting committee participation and district-level representation during the post-election period.

As the runoff continues and more results are released, the next steps will depend on Georgia’s official canvassing and certification process for the special election, after which the new member can be formally recognized in the House.