House redistricting chair loses primary to Ralston critic
Other Gwinnett lawmakers trail in primaries
In another big primary upset on Tuesday, State Rep. Bonnie Rich, a Gwinnett Republican who oversaw congressional and state legislative redistricting in the Georgia House, was defeated by fellow GOP State Rep. David Clark.
Clark, a small businessowner from Buford, is best known for being a vocal critic of House Speaker David Ralston. He had initially planned to step down at the end of his term, but changed his mind earlier this year after clashing with GOP leadership over COVID-19 precautions.
Rich, an attorney from Suwanee, was recently bumped up to chair of the House Republican caucus. She essentially drew this new district for herself after Clark announced that he would not be seeking another term. HD-100 includes parts of Gwinnett, Hall and Forsyth counties.
Clark took to Twitter to reflect on his victory. “This wasn’t a David Clark win. This was a win against the machine,” he said. “The voters were clear this seat isn’t for sale. Thank you to all the voters of HD100 for sending me back to the Capitol to be your voice!”
Georgia Democrats celebrated Rich’s defeat on Wednesday, citing her role in circumventing the county redistricting process to pass Republican-drawn maps in a handful of counties that are controlled by Democrats.
“Bonnie Rich did serious harm to Gwinnett County voters when she infamously usurped the local redistricting process to replace the people’s maps with maps she single-handedly drew to undermine the will of the people,” said State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Gwinnett Democrat.
Rich is not the only Gwinnett lawmaker who is trailing in her primary as of Thursday. In HD-106, State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson (D) easily defeated fellow Democratic State Rep. Rebecca Mitchell. This was the only primary that saw two Democratic incumbents face off following redistricting.
In SD-07, which stretches from Peachtree Corners to Lawrenceville, State Rep. Beth Moore (D) is narrowly trailing progressive activist Nabilah Islam in a primary for an open Senate seat. Islam has declared victory, while Moore has insisted that the race remains within recount territory.
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