Conyers resident Yulanda Crowley still isn’t sure who she’s voting for in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District Democratic primary on May 19, but she told Capital B Atlanta on Wednesday that it won’t be U.S. Rep. David Scott.
The 64-year-old Crowley is a retired DeKalb County educator who said she’s worried about the rising cost of Medicare and career politicians on Capitol Hill being corrupted by corporate interests.
She’s also one of many who have expressed concern about Scott’s age.
The 12-term incumbent, who will celebrate his 81st birthday in June, remains one of the oldest members in the third oldest Congress in U.S. history. He has faced criticism for missing congressional votes because of back injury issues and failing to cast ballots in the last six elections.
In 2021, Scott’s fellow Democrats voted to make him the first Georgian and African American to serve as chair of the House Agriculture Committee. In December 2024, they voted to oust him from the leadership role after behind-the-scenes clamor about whether he’s still up for the job.
Primary challengers started lining up to unseat Scott shortly thereafter. Six of them will be on the ballot next month in what’s expected to be one of Georgia’s most competitive midterm primary races.
“I want to see somebody else in that seat,” Crowley said. “I think you do need some older people [in Congress] that understand how the system works, but we want to get rid of those people that have just bought into the system and not the people that they’re representing.“
Avoiding media interviews
Scott took heat at the Gold Dome in March for declining to answer questions from the media after officially qualifying for the race. His office recently told Capital B Atlanta that he’s not interested in doing press interviews.
“Y’all just wanna call him old,” a campaign staffer said over the phone in late March.
Scott’s campaign website touts his support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, boosting funding for Medicaid, Medicare and increased healthcare benefits for military veterans via the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act that Scott sponsored in 2014.
“I will keep working on these issues until I hear from Georgia veterans that they are receiving first class care in a timely manner,” Scott said on his website.
Scott has also faced criticism for his support for military aid to Israel throughout the Gaza war. Democrats overwhelmingly oppose ongoing military funding for Israel, who many blame for convincing President Donald Trump to start a war with Iran.
Who’s running against Scott?
The list of Democratic candidates vying to replace Scott in Congress includes state Rep. Jasmine Clark, state Sen. Emanuel Jones, educator Everton Blair, and faith leader Jeffree Fauntleroy. It also includes Heavenly Kimes and Joe Lester, both of whom are dentists.
Kimes and Lester haven’t responded to multiple requests for comment. Clark, Jones, Blair and Fauntleroy all told Capital B Atlanta that reversing policies supported by the Trump administration are at the top of their priority list.
Jasmine Clark
Clark, 43, is the four-term state lawmaker and assistant clinical professor at Emory University vying to become the first woman with a doctorate degree in science to be elected to Congress.
“We need diversity of thought in Congress right now, especially at a time when science is under attack,” she told Capital B Atlanta on Wednesday.
Her campaign priorities include restoring funding to federal programs impacted by Trump’s 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act that have resulted in major cuts to SNAP, HUD, and other social safety net programs that many Black Georgians depend on.
She supports federal housing legislation backed by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock that would limit the number of single-family homes private equity firms can acquire across the nation, an effort aimed at increasing the supply of homes available for working families.
“People are asking for someone to actually get to Washington D.C. and more than shrug their shoulders and say, ‘there’s nothing I can do,’” Clark said. “I have a track record of being a fighter against Republicans when they are pushing for policies that harm people. I show up. I think that makes me the best candidate for Congressional District 13.”
Emanuel Jones
Emanuel Jones, 66, is the northwest Atlanta native and successful auto dealership entrepreneur who has owned and operated Legacy Ford of McDonough for 35 years.
He’s also an Ellenwood resident and a former U.S. Army captain who has served as a state senator for 22 years. He won his first election in 2004 and touts endorsements from more than 70 community and elected leaders, including former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and state Sen. Minority Leader Harold Jones.
Emanuel Jones voiced disapproval for the Iran war, which he and others said is illegal because President Trump didn’t get authorization from Congress before starting the conflict. He said he supports impeaching Trump over the issue.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Jones said when asked if he’d vote to impeach the president over the Iran war. “We have put America on a trajectory that none of us know where it’s going to end.”
Everton Blair
Blair, 33, is the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board who has earned degrees from Harvard and Stanford universities and now serves as vice president of School Board Partners, a nonprofit that trains and supports school board members across the country.
The career educator said he’s the only candidate in the race who has held office before without taking campaign donations from corporate special interest groups, an apparent shot at Scott, Clark, and Jones.
“We need a new generation of leadership that’s focusing on our growing challenges that have gone unaddressed too long,” Blair told Capital B Atlanta. “We need bravery. We need clarity and an economy that is focused on the future.”
He supports raising the federal minimum wage, boosting reskilling workforce development programs to help Georgians maximize job opportunities, and boosting government support for small businesses.
To pay for this, Blair proposes taxing major companies that are reducing their workforce size by increasing automation. He also supports limiting the ability of private equity firms to buy up single-family homes.
“I want to facilitate pathways for working people who are paying their rent on time and cannot afford to save enough for a down payment, but their rent is more expensive than their mortgage would be,” Blair said. “There needs to be a pathway for those people to access the middle-class American dream and not just be strapped in apartments that take advantage of them.”
Jeffree Fauntleroy
Fauntleroy, 62, is a former law enforcement officer and current faith and community leader who founded the Fauntleroy Institute in 2023. His nonprofit provides ministry workers with the experience they need for spiritual leadership and local community development.
The Snellville resident and married father of three holds a doctorate degree in ministry from Howard University and a master’s degree from the Morehouse School of Religion at the Interdenominational Theological Center, as well as a certification from Princeton Theological Seminary. His 25 years working in law enforcement includes a stint with the Atlantic City Police Department in New Jersey where he once served as a local pastor.
“I had a chance to pray for people and I also had a chance to stop people from preying on people,” Fauntleroy told Capital B Atlanta. “I know the plight of working families. I know the needs, which are affordable housing, [addressing] the rising cost of food prices, the lack of healthy foods in our neighborhoods, the rising cost of healthcare, [and] environmental injustice.”
Fauntleroy’s plan to help the 13th District includes supporting universal healthcare and childcare legislation as well as promoting tax incentives to boost affordable housing construction and advocating for increased protection for renters.
“We can expand rental assistance to working families,” he said. “We can expand federal incentives for affordable housing construction.”
Early voting in the primary race starts on April 27 and ends on May 15.
Read More:
