ATLANTA —
Kwanza Hall, the former Atlanta City Councilman, was projected overnight to win the 5th District special election runoff against former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin.
The 5th Congressional District covers portions of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties.
Hall will fill the former seat of the late Rep. John Leis for about a month, until the start of the next Congress which begins its term on Jan. 3. That’s when Nikema Williams will be sworn in for a full two-year term. She beat her Republican challenger, Angela Stanton King, in the Nov. 3 election.
"I am humbled, truly humbled to earn this privilege. My father, Leon Hall, and John Lewis worked for and with Dr. King and so many other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to bring equity and justice to our country. This win tonight allows me to continue that fight and to work every day of this term for issues like COVID-19 relief, criminal justice reform, protecting the right to vote, finding money for affordable housing, for the legalization of cannabis and, if it has been decided by the time I get to DC, for a stimulus package to keep residents of the 5th District in their homes and the doors of small businesses open,” Hall said in a statement.
As of early Wednesday morning, 100% of precincts were shown reporting their results, showing a 54% to 46% victory for Hall. Refresh often for updates.
It also appeared Sonya Halpern had comfortably won the special election runoff in the race to fill Williams' District 39 State Senate seat. Technically, it was a Democratic primary runoff, but no Republicans or Independents were running.