*Georgia Democrats have selected Chairwoman Nikema Williams, a state senator from Atlanta, to replace Representative John Lewis on the ballot for the November general election following his death Friday.
The party said 131 candidates submitted applications, per CBS News, and Democratic leaders selected five people to be considered by the Georgia Democratic Party’s executive committee, the report states. From that pool of applicants, voting members chose Williams as the nominee.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is among those serving on the nominating committee, in addition to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Williams won by an overwhelming vote of the 44-member committee.
“As our state mourns the loss of a great Georgian, the law demands that we move quickly to elect the next representative from the 5th Congressional District,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement. “Congressman Lewis played a pivotal role in our nation’s history to ensure access to the ballot box, and voters can honor his legacy by participating in our democracy as they decide who should represent them in Congress. No one can replace John Lewis, but someone must represent the interests of the 5th Congress District.”
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Nobody will ever fill the shoes of Congressman John Lewis.
I will do everything in my power to honor his legacy and lift up his spirit.
I’m honored to accept this nomination. pic.twitter.com/ZOFJkSUN9v
— Senator Nikema Williams (@NikemaWilliams) July 20, 2020
Williams captured 37 of the 41 votes cast; her closest rival, state Rep. Park Cannon, reportedly netted two ballots.
“Her fight for the oppressed, the left behind and the strivers will continue to serve Georgia well,” Abrams said shortly after the vote.
Williams campaigned on Zoom before members of the party’s executive committee, and noted her upbringing in rural Alabama, where Lewis also grew up. She called herself “a student of the John Lewis school of politics” who has “practiced the art of getting into ‘good trouble.'”
“We need someone who is not afraid to put themselves on the line for their constituents in the same way Congressman Lewis taught us to do,” she told the committee.
Adding, “Nobody could possibly fill the shoes of Congressman Lewis,” Williams said. “His leadership and fighting spirit is needed now more than ever in this country. I believe it is imperative that we choose someone with a long track record of fearlessly standing up for what is right and someone who will take on the endless attacks on our rights that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the Republican Party.”
Now, inquiring minds are wondering how her Atlanta-based state Senate seat will be filled.
Hours after she won the nomination, Williams posted a picture on social showing her with Lewis.
“Nobody will ever fill the shoes of Congressman John Lewis,” she wrote. “I will do everything in my power to honor his legacy and lift up his spirit.”
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