ATLANTA — Georgia is moving closer to a new congressional map that experts see as likely to swing one of the state's U.S. House seats from Democratic control to Republican.
The state Senate on Friday approved the new map, which most notably realigns the 6th District seat in metro Atlanta currently held by Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath.
The new district would draw less from Atlanta's nearer northern suburbs and extend farther north through Dawson County, making it likelier a Republican will win the seat when it is up for grabs in next year's November mid-terms.
On Saturday the Georgie House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee will consider the map, submitted under the bill SB 2EX (the committee will also consider HB 5EX, a Democratic-sponsored map unlikely to advance in the Republican-dominated Georgia General Assembly).
The hearing will take place from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. and will be livestreamed on the Georgia General Assembly website.
If and when the Georgia House passes the new map, likely on Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp would then be able to sign off on it.
Georgia's current congressional representation consists of eight Republicans and six Democrats, with that likely to shift to 9-5 in favor of the GOP.
The Georgia Senate gave its final approval of the new map on Friday in a party line 32-21 vote.
In addition to the significant change to the 6th District, 11Alive's Doug Richards reported this week on the change that will bring majority-Black Austell in southwest Cobb County out of Democratic Rep. David Scott's 13th District and into the deeply conservative Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene's 14th District.
"(Austell) is heavily Black and Brown," resident Valerie Testaman told Georgia Senate committee members on Thursday. "And I am totally confused as to how it is proposed to be part of District 14 with Marjorie Taylor Greene."