ADVERTISEMENT

Democrat Trailing in Georgia House Race Announces She Will Request Recount

Carolyn Bourdeaux / Facebook
November 16, 2018

Democratic congressional candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux on Friday announced her intention to file for a recount in her tight House race against incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Woodall in Georgia's Seventh District.

Out of more than 280,000 total votes, Bourdeaux trails Woodall by 419 votes, a margin of 0.14 percent. Per Georgia law, a recount can be requested if the margin is less than one percent.

The race has not been certified yet, but Bourdeaux said she will request the recount once it is.

"It is crucial that every eligible vote is counted and every voice is heard," said Bourdeaux's spokesman, Jake Best. "We want to make sure every vote was counted correctly and fairly, and that is why we intend to request a recount of this race."

Woodall's lead was 901 votes at the beginning of the week, but Bourdeaux successfully petitioned the courts to include hundreds of provisional and absentee ballots that were not initially counted because of trivial birthdate errors.

The district, which includes the metro Atlanta counties of Forsyth and Gwinnett, neighbors Georgia's Sixth Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Karen Handel was unseated last week by Democrat Lucy McBath. It is one of dozens of suburban districts across the country where Republicans were vulnerable in the 2018 election cycle. Democrats have already clinched control of the House of Representatives, flipping more than 30 seats with other victories still possible.

The race for the seventh district has been overshadowed by the Georgia governor's race, in which Democrat Stacey Abrams acknowledged Friday that she cannot defeat Republican Brian Kemp, who had been calling on her to concede for more than a week.

Published under: 2018 Election , Georgia