Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark says voters urged her to run for Congress

Natalie Mendenhall, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jun 16, 2025

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ATLANTA — State Rep. Jasmine Clark said on Thursday’s edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast that she decided to run for Congress to “actually answer the call that I was getting from a lot of voters.”

Clark, a Democrat from Lilburn, announced her bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, earlier this month.

“A lot of people said, ‘I really feel like what we need right now in Congress is the same energy that you’ve been bringing to the Georgia state Legislature,’” she said.

She said Scott has had a great track record over time, but “even his colleagues in Washington, D.C., are saying, you know, something needs to change.”

“We saw that back in December when he lost his ranking membership in the (U.S. House) Agriculture Committee," she said.

Everton Blair, former chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, and state Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, have also entered the 13th District race.

Clark, who is a microbiologist and a professor, told AJC journalists Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy that she could distinguish herself in the growing field.

“I just have a completely different résumé. I know what it’s like to run a competitive campaign,” said Clark, who flipped her Gwinnett-based seat from a Republican incumbent in 2018.

She held on to the seat through three cycles even after two rounds of GOP-led redistricting made it more competitive.

Last year, Clark also led opposition to a short-lived decision by Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods to block approval of a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies.

“I have actually had to stand up to Republicans,” said Clark. “And that’s what Democrats are asking for.”

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