Georgia's Rep. McBath to switch districts again after judge gives thumbs up to new GOP-drawn map
McBath shifts from Gwinnett to Atlanta's west side in latest district jump
For the second election cycle in a row, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath will be running for re-election in a different district.
The three-term congresswoman and Marietta resident said Thursday that she will run in the new District 6, shifting from her current Gwinnett-based constituency to Atlanta’s southern and western suburbs.
The new majority-Black 6th District is anchored in South Fulton and also takes in parts of Cobb, Douglas and Fayette counties. It was created after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones urged lawmakers to increase the number of majority-Black districts.
Marietta is not part of the new District 6, but there are no laws preventing members of Congress from living outside of their district.
Civil rights groups highlighted that McBath’s current district is a minority coalition district and that the new map is just as unlawful for dismantling it. But Judge Jones on Thursday allowed the new map to stand, refusing to answer any questions about the legality of coalition districts.
Rep. McBath in a statement scolded an “extremist few Republicans” in the state legislature, whom she says have been on “a never-ending (and unsuccessful) saga” to cut her time in Washington short. She says that she hopes a higher court will intervene and block these new maps from being used.
“However, if the maps passed by the state legislature stand for the 2024 election cycle, I will be running for re-election to Congress in GA-06 because too much is at stake to stand down,” she says.
McBath’s latest district jump comes just two years after the North Atlanta territory where the retired flight attendant and outspoken gun control activist initially won office in 2018 was overhauled to become solidly Republican, forcing her to challenge a fellow Democratic incumbent to claim her current Gwinnett-based seat.
But it’s worth noting that the new 6th District largely corresponds with the current District 13, which is represented by longtime Rep. David Scott.
A spokesperson for Rep. Scott declined to comment, saying that the Atlanta Democrat is “enjoying the holidays with his family” and that a decision on his future plans will be revealed “when appropriate.”