McBath defeats fellow incumbent Bourdeaux in Georgia House primary

Rep. Lucy McBath is projected to defeat fellow Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the Democratic primary to represent Georgia’s 7th Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the race for McBath at 10 p.m.

With the Democratic nomination locked up, McBath, a gun control activist who was first elected to Congress in 2018, is expected to coast to another term in the House representing the heavily Democratic suburban Atlanta district. 

McBath and Bourdeaux, a college professor who won her seat in 2020, have similar voting records in the House, though McBath won the backing of high-profile progressives such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). 

Bourdeaux, meanwhile, was seen as the more moderate of the two. She was among a group of House Democrats that opposed advancing President Biden’s sweeping social policy and climate change package last year until an infrastructure bill was approved. 

The two Georgia Democrats were pitted against each other following the decennial redistricting process. The new congressional map approved by the GOP-controlled state legislature made McBath’s district significantly more Republican-leaning, prompting her to run in Bourdeaux’s district, which was drawn to favor Democrats.

Despite McBath’s support among top progressives and Bourdeaux’s more moderate tilt, the race between the two was not seen as a bellwether of the direction of the Democratic Party. 

Still, McBath’s win is likely to be touted as a victory by some liberal groups and luminaries as the Democratic Party’s left flank looks to extend its winning streak following a handful of high-profile successes in last week’s primaries in Pennsylvania and Oregon.