A special election filled the remainder of the term in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

Georgia's 5th congressional district Georgia's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The district was represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat John Lewis from January 3, 1987, until his death on ...

in the

116th United States Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...

. Incumbent representative

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, who was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in December 2019, died on July 17, 2020, during his 17th term.

Background

As established by the Constitution of Georgia, Governor

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Kemp served as the state's 27th Georgia Secretary of Sta ...

ordered a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill out the remainder of Lewis's term for September 29, 2020. Since no candidate reached 50% on September 29, there was a special runoff election on December 1. This meant that the runoff election took place four weeks after the regular election for a full two-year term. The runoff winner would thus serve for just one month covering the holiday season. On July 20, 2020, the state Democratic Party announced that State Senator

Nikema Williams Nikema Natassha Williams ( ; born July 30, 1978) is an American politician serving as the representative for . The district includes almost three-quarters of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th district from 2017 to ...

would replace Lewis on the November ballot, which she won with over 300,000 votes (85%). Williams did not run in the special election to serve the remainder of Lewis's term.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Advanced to runoff

* Robert Michael Franklin Jr., former president of

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

(2007–2012) and professor at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

Kwanza Hall Kwanza Hall (born May 1, 1971) is an American politician and businessman who briefly served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district. He previously served as a member of the Atlanta City ...

, former

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council (formerly the Atlanta Board of Aldermen until 1974) is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members: the council president, twelve members elected from di ...

man (2006–2017) and

2017 Atlanta mayoral election Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American mag ...

candidate

Eliminated in blanket primary

* Barrington Martin II, educator, 2020 candidate in

Mable Thomas Mable Thomas (born November 8, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for District 56. She previously represented District 55, which includes areas immediately west and southwest of Downtown A ...

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

and former

woman (1997–2003) *

Keisha Waites Keisha Sean Waites (born October 30, 1972) is an American politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, she served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2012 to 2017, representing southeast Atlanta, College Park, East Point, Hapeville ...

, former

(2012–2017), 2020 candidate in Georgia's 13th congressional district

Declined

* Meria Carstarphen, former Superintendent of

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending ...

(2014–2020) *

, state senator and chairwoman of the

Georgia Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), formally known as the Union Democratic Republican Party, commonly shortened to the Union Party (UP), until 1840, is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. Since its founding, it ...

(opted to run in the general election instead)

Libertarian Party

Eliminated in blanket primary

Chase Oliver Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election. Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4% and 6 ...

, customer service specialist

Independent

Eliminated in blanket primary

* Steven Muhammad, community organizer

General election

Predictions

Results

Runoff

References

External links

Robert Michael Frankin Jr. (D) for Congress

Kwanza Hall (D) for Congress
{{2020 United States elections, state=collapsed Georgia 2020 05 Georgia 2020 05 2020 05 Special Georgia 05 Special United States House of Representatives 05 Special United States House of Representatives 2020 05 December 2020 in the United States African-American history of Georgia (U.S. state)

Background

Candidates

Democratic Party

Advanced to runoff

Eliminated in blanket primary

Declined

Libertarian Party

Eliminated in blanket primary

Independent

Eliminated in blanket primary

General election

Predictions

Results

Runoff

See also

References

External links