ATLANTA — Georgia voters are going to select a new U.S. congressman in the 7th district of Georgia to replace Rob Woodall, who did not seek re-election after holding the seat since 2010.
Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux, a professor, and Republican Rich McCormick, a veteran and ER doctor, square off in what is expected to be a tight race.
The outcome of this race will affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives where Democrats currently have a 232 to 198 majority over Republicans. Because the Republicans feel it is a critical seat to hold onto, PAC money is playing a huge role in the race. The district supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Bourdeaux is very familiar with this contest. In 2018, it took two weeks and a recount to learn she lost the contest to Woodall, by only about 400 votes.
The 7th Congressional District is home to northeastern Atlanta and eight smaller cities in Gwinnett and Forsyth counties.
Who is Carolyn Bourdeaux?
Bourdeaux lives in Suwanee with her husband. They have one son. She's currently a professor of public policy at Georgia State University.
She previously served as the director of the state’s Senate Budget and Evaluation Office. She also worked as senior aid to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D- Oregon).
She says she is ready to take on this role because she "has spent her career working on public policy solutions."
Who is Rich McCormick?
McCormick is married with seven children and they reside in Suwanee. He is an emergency room doctor, Marine Corp pilot and a veteran who served in Afghanistan.
"In Congress, I’ll protect America from the socialist fantasies of the left, stand up to the squad, build the wall, and double down on the Trump economy," he said.
When will Georgia election results be announced?
The short answer is, that is uncertain. It's likely that some of the Georgia races will be called on election night, but tallying for others may not be finished that day.
The state has seen record early voting and absentee voting numbers, which can ease voter gridlock on election day, plus it puts voting data into computer databases more quickly. While some counties have started opening and processing ballots, the votes can't actually be tabulated until after polls close on election day, per state law.
When election results start coming in from the state, we'll update them here and at 11Alive.com/elections.