by Stacy Jackson
December 8, 2023
The proposal would result in a court-ordered new Black-majority district. But it could eliminate Rep. McBath’s district.
Republicans targeted U.S. Democratic Representative Lucy McBath with a proposal on Dec. 1 to redraw Atlanta’s congressional district lines in favor of a 9-5 Republican congressional majority.
The change would target Rep. McBath’s district in a way that would call for a complete transformation, The Associated Press reported. The proposal would result in a court-ordered new Black-majority district. But the result could be a total elimination of Rep. McBath’s district, the outlet also reported.
McBath, who currently represents the suburbs of Atlanta, including Gwinnett and the north part of Fulton Counties, previously won an election in a majority-white suburb, according to The AP. In 2021, Republicans in the state of Georgia separated the district into majority Republican and Democratic areas to target Rep. McBath’s position at the time. However, in 2022 the Black Democrat came out on top when she moved into the new district that was democratic and won in a primary against Democratic incumbent Carolyn Bordeaux.
Jake Orvis, Rep. McBath’s campaign manager, said in a statement according to The AP, “Georgia Republicans have yet again attempted to subvert voters by changing the rules. We will look to the ruling from Judge Jones in the coming weeks before announcing further plans.”
Orvis added, “Regardless, Congresswoman McBath refuses to let an extremist few in the state legislature determine when her time serving Georgians in Congress is done.”
Kareem Crayton, who examines redistricting for the Brennan Center at New York University, commented on the potential wipeout of Rep. McBath’s current district. “Is it appropriate to dismantle that district in order to create another one? That’s an important question.” The news outlet also reported that Crayton advised, “If I were the legislature, I would proceed with great caution if I were trying to make that one-for-one switch.”
The outlet reported there is no certainty that Rep. McBath would move districts to overcome being a target for Republicans and their district lines this time around.
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