ATLANTA (AP) – More than $1 million dollars and 30,000 ballots later, Georgia voters will be sending someone to Congress amid hopes that a month in Washington is worth it.
Former Atlanta City Council member Kwanza Hall and former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin are headed to a Dec. 1 runoff after finishing first and second in a Tuesday special election among seven candidates for the seat long held by the civil rights legend John Lewis. Lewis died from pancreatic cancer in July.
Hall and Franklin are both Democrats.
The most junior member of the House will arrive on Capitol Hill with very little time to accomplish anything besides being guaranteed that they can be remembered as a congressman. Lewis’ successor will serve only until the current Congress ends on Jan. 3, and neither Hall or Franklin are running in the Nov. 3 general election, which will determine who wins a full two-year term.
A tentative House calendar shows no floor votes scheduled after Dec. 10