BREAKING: McBath defeats Bourdeaux in GA07 primary
Dem primary seen as tantamount to election in solidly blue GA07
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath has won the Democratic primary in Georgia’s 7th district, defeating fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux and State Rep. Donna McLeod, according to the Associated Press.
McBath, a retired Delta flight attendant who currently represents the 6th district, was first elected to Congress in 2018. She decided to run for re-election in the 7th district after Republican state legislators significantly altered the boundaries of the 6th district, rendering it virtually unwinnable for Democrats.
Her decision to run in the 7th district put her up against Bourdeaux, a public policy professor who was the only Democrat to flip a competitive district in 2020. The new Republican-drawn map transformed the 7th into a district that Democrats should easily hold.
Both publicly and privately, many Democrats were dreading the thought of losing one of their political newcomers in a state that has become increasingly competitive in recent elections. Both McBath and Bourdeaux were each viewed as the embodiment of the state’s political transformation, particularly in the northern Atlanta suburbs.
The primary had turned negative in the closing weeks. Bourdeaux had accused McBath of handing her current seat to Republicans by refusing to run there, while McLeod attacked both congresswomen by saying she is the only candidate in the race who can vote for herself (neither McBath nor Bourdeaux live in the new 7th).
McBath is now set to cruise to re-election in the heavily Democratic 7th district, which has given Democratic candidates more than 60% of the vote in recent statewide elections.