Democratic candidate for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District Carolyn Bourdeaux has claimed victory in the race for the seat, though her Republican opponent, Rich McCormick, said he is still awaiting all votes to be counted.
In a video posted on her campaign’s Facebook page, Bourdeaux said “At this point, we are confident that I have won the race for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District,” and thanked her family, campaign staff and voters for their support in the election.
“Three years ago, I stepped up to take on a four-term Republican who had never gotten below 60% of the vote,” Bourdeaux said. “We have worked so hard. We have visited so many different communities, we have made the calls, we have knocked on doors, we have raised the money, we have done the mailing, digital and TV and with an enormous effort in 2018, we closed a 20-percentage point gap and came within 433 votes of flipping this seat.”
In a post of his own, McCormick said he would not release a statement until all votes are counted.
“Our fight is not finished,” McCormick said. “Votes are still being counted in Gwinnett and Forsyth counties. Until all the results are in, I will not be making a statement on the outcome of this election. From the beginning of this race, I promised to be ‘All in, All the time’ and that pledge requires that we ensure every vote is counted.”
According to statewide election results as of 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, Bourdeaux had received 184,260 votes, or about 51.2% of the total ballots, and McCormick had earned 175,955 votes, or 48.9% of the total.
The 7th District makes up the majority of Forsyth, a Republican stronghold, and Gwinnett, which has gone toward Democrats in recent elections, counties.
In Forsyth, McCormick carried more votes, earning 56,278 votes, about 66.3% of the 84,927 votes cast, compared to Bourdeaux’s 28,649, about 33.7%.
In Gwinnett, Bourdeaux earned 155,611 votes, about 56.5% of the 275,228-vote total, to McCormick’s 199,677 votes, or 43.5%.
In 2018, Bourdeaux ran against incumbent Rep. Rob Woodall, a Republican who did not seek re-election this year for the office he has held since 2011.
Official results showed Bourdeaux trailed Woodall by just 419 votes out of 280,411 cast, and Bourdeaux conceded more than two weeks after election night following a recount by the Georgia secretary of state’s office.
Bourdeaux is a native of Roanoke, Va., earned a bachelor's from Yale, a master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse University.
She teaches at Georgia State University and was previously of the Georgia Senate Budget and Evaluation Office and as chair of the National Association for Budgeting and Financial Management.
In her video, Bourdeaux said she plans to “work to build a country where we are diverse, inclusive, global in our outlook and aspirations, where we believe in democracy and we believe in our people” and to address issues facing the country such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, justice for the Black community, supporting immigrant communities and investing in healthcare, education and infrastructure.
“I am here to be an advocate on behalf of the people of this district,” Bourdeaux said in her video. “I got into this race originally around the destruction of the Affordable Care Act and the firm belief that everyone needs quality, affordable health care. I also got into the race because of the divisiveness, the racism, the sexism, the anti-immigrant language of the policies coming out of this administration, and I am determined to bring people together to resolve the really critical problems that are facing our community.”