It hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as the marquee races for governor and U.S. Senate, but one of the night’s toughest primary battles is being fought in Atlanta’s northeast suburbs.
Until last year, the 7th Congressional District was one of the country’s most competitive political battlegrounds. In 2018, the Republican incumbent won the district by some 400 votes, and two years later Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux flipped the seat, ending some two decades of GOP dominance.
But that was before redistricting. The GOP-led state legislature last year opted to refashion the 7th into a deep blue bastion and overhaul the neighboring 6th into a safe Republican seat. That was bad news for incumbent U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, the Democrat elected to the 6th in 2018, who opted to move and compete in the 7th rather than face a bloodbath at home.
For the most part, Bourdeaux and McBath have similar voting records in Congress, but Bourdeaux has allied herself with more moderate members of the Democratic caucus. McBath, meanwhile, has national name recognition from her years as a gun control advocate and support from deep-pocketed political committees and many progressives.
A third Democrat, Lawrenceville state Rep. Donna McLeod, is also on the ballot. Depending on how tight the contest is between McBath and Bourdeaux, her presence could force the two incumbent congresswomen into a runoff.
