The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HIS SUCCESSOR
Mourning the loss of a titan, party faces tough task of replacing him.
By this afternoon, the Democratic Party of Georgia plans to announce who will replace Lewis’ name on the November ballot — a candidate who will be a virtual lock to represent the heavily Democratic district for the next two years.
As Georgia Democrats mourn the death of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, they must also quickly decide who will succeed the civil rights hero in what might be the shortest congressional campaign in recent state history.
By this afternoon, the Democratic Party of Georgia plans to announce whose name will replace Lewis’ on the November ballot — a candidate who will be a virtual lock to represent the heavily Democratic seat for the next two years.
There’s no time or need for the traditional campaign candidates would run. Instead potential candidates must turn to their keyboards and fill out a six-question application that asks about their ties to the Atlanta-based district and why they should be considered for the seat.
The abbreviated process has played out in a weekend of calls and text messages that began shortly after news broke Friday night of Lewis’ death. It culminates with a meeting at noon today of the party’s state executive committee to decide who will be the nominee for the seat Lewis has represented since 1987.
“Think about being the person to hold that seat after John Lewis — the pressure and scrutiny that comes with trying to fill the shoes of a giant,” said Joel Alvarado, a veteran Democratic strategist.
The front-runner, if it can be called that, is state party chairwoman Nikema Williams. The 41-year-old state senator represents a stretch of Lewis’ district in the Georgia Legislature and has built a national profile as one of the state’s foremost female Black political leaders. Her husband, Leslie Small, is a former Lewis aide who considered the congressman a mentor.
Williams didn’t immediately comment over the weekend, but interviews with a dozen Democratic officials who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the process said she’s likely to win the party’s nomination.
Other names have been floated, too. Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley
Franklin has deep ties with city leaders after serving two terms in City Hall’s top job.
Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens, who is seen as an up-and-coming party figure and is likely to apply, emphasized the need for a “fair, transparent and democratic process.”
Former state Sen. Vincent Fort, who plans to submit his application, said Democrats should consider tapping a “placeholder,” who would then give way to a wide-open election in 2022 for the seat.
“I’ve studied the movement and lived the movement,” said Fort, who preceded Williams in the state Senate before leaving to run an unsuccessful campaign for Atlanta mayor. “This historic seat needs an open and transparent process.”
Committee will select finalists
The jockeying for Lewis’ seat is a necessity, given the quirks of Georgia law.
Typically, if a sitting U.S. House member dies or resigns before his or her term is up, it sets up a months-long special election process. But since Lewis died after the party’s June primary — and so close to the November election — Georgia law gives party officials until the first business day after Lewis’ death to determine whether to leave his name on the November ballot or replace it.
It’s an option the party is eager to take, given that Lewis’ seat is so safely Democratic he didn’t draw a Republican opponent two years ago. This year, the Democratic nominee will face Angela Stanton-King, a Republican longshot candidate.
There will be a separate special election to fill the remaining months of Lewis’ term, which expires in January. Gov. Brian Kemp has 10 days to set the timing of that vote, which has no bearing on the November election.
A nominating committee stacked with some of the party’s most prominent figures will vet the online applications that were due by 6:30 p.m. Sunday. That panel will select a list of finalists to pass on to the state party’s executive committee.
Republicans snickered that the process borrowed from Kemp’s search last year for a successor to Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson. Hundreds of people applied for the coveted job over several months, drawing criticism from Democrats who said the online method was opaque and unfair.
State Democrats said they had little choice but to resort to seeking online resumes in hopes of, according to party general counsel Sachin Varghese, honoring Lewis’ legacy while “working within the applicable legal framework.”
The law is a bit vague. It says the state party executive committee has until 4 p.m. today to decide whether to fill the seat, but doesn’t specify that a replacement be named by that deadline.
Still, party leaders want to leave nothing to chance — and are wary of a ruling by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, that blocks them from replacing Lewis’ name if they don’t meet the deadline.
“That’s the biggest concern — that seat could be lost on a technicality,” said Ted Terry, the party’s vice-chair. “That’s why you’re seeing a scramble.”