Since its creation in 2002, U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-GA) is the only congressman that Georgia’s 13th Congressional District has ever known. After winning a hotly contested five-way Democratic primary, he defeated Republican Clay Cox in the general election by nearly 20% of the vote. Fast forward 17 years, and that race remains his closest.
Michael Owens
In 2018 Scott defeated token Republican candidate David Callahan by more than 50% of the total vote, numbers similar to the 2016 presidential results in the metro Atlanta district that saw Hillary Clinton defeat President Donald Trump 71%-27%. Barring redistricting shenanigans in 2020 or a scandal of Roy Moore-ish proportions, it is safe to say that the GOP has no plans to flip the seat any time soon.
But just because the district is safely blue, it doesn’t mean that it’s a safe district. Just ask former New York Rep. Joe Crowley, who was caught resting on his laurels by upstart Alexandria Ocasio Cortez last year. Ocasio Cortez attacked Crowley from his left flank, calling him “one of the most Corporate-funded members of Congress” en route to an upset victory, propelling her to the forefront of the Democrats’ progressive movement in D.C.
Here in Georgia, Michael Owens hopes to capture some of that same energy.
Announcing his candidacy Monday, Owens called Scott “a thorn in the side of Democrats across Georgia,” and accused him of regularly supporting President Trump, endorsing Republican candidates, and of “supporting policies and bills that undermine our communities.” While Scott undoubtedly disagrees with that assessment, he can certainly be considered one of the more moderate Democrats in the House.
A member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition, a pair of moderate, “pro-growth” liberal groups, Scott was ranked as the 18th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress. In an increasingly partisan political climate, Owens hopes Democrats are looking to move further left.
He certainly has the resume to make it a fight.
A former U.S. Marine, Owens currently works as a cybersecurity officer for Equifax. He has already turned that expertise into a cornerstone of his platform, stating that “the Russian state and their relentless attacks on our election systems highlight the need for elected officials with expertise in cybersecurity and intelligence tactics.”
Owens was also the chair of the Cobb County Democratic Party leading up to the 2018 midterms, a wildly successful stint for county Dems as they flipped several seats in the state legislature as well as helping to unseat Karen Handel in the 6th CD, flipping it to now-Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA).
In 2014 Owens unsuccessfully primaried Scott for the first time in the latter’s congressional tenure, losing handily by nearly 65% of the vote. That primary was fairly low-turnout though, with just 35,000 votes cast, so Owens will hope to capture some of the momentum from what promises to be an energized progressive base leading into the 2020 Democratic primaries and ensuing general election against Trump.
