Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mother Of Slain Jacksonville Teen Wins Democratic Nomination For Congressional Seat

Lucy McBath's Twitter page
Georgia Sixth Congressional District Democratic nominee Lucy Bath

Lucia "Lucy" McBath has won the Democratic nomination in the race for Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District.

The Sixth Congressional District is located in the Atlanta area and includes Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton.

McBath beat Kevin Abel in the Democratic primary runoff. She gained notoriety as a gun control activist after her son, Jordan Davis, 17, was shot and killed in Jacksonville in 2012 in a dispute over loud music at a Gate gas station.

Michael Dunn, a software developer, was convicted of first-degree murder in Davis's killing. 

The racially tinged case drew national media coverage and came amid increased scrutinyof the deaths of young black men. Dunn is white. Davis was black.

“I am at a loss for words. Thank you to my supporters, friends & family. And I want to thank my dear Jordan, my rock & inspiration,” McBath wrote on Twitter early Wednesday morning following her win.

With 100 percent of the results reported, Vox.com reported McBath captured 53 percent of the vote compared to 46 percent for Abel.

McBath will face Republican incumbent Rep. Karen Handel in the November election.

Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.

Bill joined WJCT News in September of 2017 from The Florida Times-Union, where he served in a variety of multimedia journalism positions.