Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson said Tuesday she will remain a candidate for the 6th Congressional District of Georgia, although it’s been vastly redrawn from when she announced her run last year.
The first-term Democrat, who lives in East Cobb and represents District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, said in a video-taped message that she’s staying in the 6th District.
During a special session in December, it was redrawn by the Georgia legislature in a special session in December to include South Cobb, parts of Atlanta and the south metro area.
(See map of all 14 redrawn Georgia Congressional districts.)
Most of East Cobb will be in the 11th District, represented by Republican Barry Loudermilk.
The 6th District currently includes parts of East Cobb, North Fulton and Forsyth and Dawson counties, a strongly conservative area designed for a Republican, although Richardson had been making appearances in some of those places.
That’s represented by Republican Rich McCormick, and most of that area is now included in the redrawn 7th District.
When a federal judge ordered new maps due to violations of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, Richardson said she would not run against an incumbent Democrat.
But the new maps were approved, and former 6th District Congresswoman Lucy McBath, who switched to the Gwinnett-based 7th District in 2022, announced she would be switching back to the 6th.
That’s because much of Gwinnett was carved up by the GOP-dominated legislature into four Congressional districts,, most of them designed for Republicans.
Richardson didn’t mention that in her message (video below), but said her candidacy represents an “opportunity for sustainable and transformational change that will move the entire state forward.
“It’s because this race has always been about us. About our community, and the hopes and dreams that we bring to the table.”
Richardson was drawn out of her District 2 seat during reapportionment, and she and her fellow Democratic commissioners tried to invoke home rule to draw commission district boundaries.
But in a ruling on Monday, Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris ruled that action violated the Georgia Constitution. She has not ruled on a lawsuit asking that the legislative-approved boundaries—which would place East Cobb in District 3—be reinstated.
The county has filed a notice to appeal that ruling.
The area of the new 6th District includes much of the 13th District, which has been represented by Democrat David Scott since 2003.
Congressional candidates do not have to live in the districts they’re running in. Richardson moved to her East Cobb home in 2022 after living in the Delk Road area.
“From Mableton to Austell to Powder Springs to Smyrna and Vinings and Sandy Springs and the Perimeter area and South Fulton and College Park and Douglasville and Fayetteville, I love my community,” Richardson said.
“And the Sixth District is my community. I’m deciding and running for you, and I hope you will run with me.”
According to her latest campaign disclosure reports—from April 1 through Sept. 30 of last year—Richardson reported more than $52,000 in contributions and reporting spending roughly half that amount.
Related:
- Judge rules Cobb home rule claim unconstitutional
- Cobb Commission candidate reports $30K+ in fundraising
- New Ga. legislative, Congressional maps approved
- Federal judge orders new Cobb school board electoral maps
- Cobb commissioners approve 2024 transit sales tax referendum
- Former Cupid assistant to run for Cobb Superior Court Clerk
- New Ga. Congressional lines likely to prompt legal challenge
- Legislature passes maps altering East Cobb State Senate lines
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