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Lucia Kay McBath (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician serving as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Georgia's 6th congressional district Georgia's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. , it is represented by Democrat Lucy McBath. The Georgia 6th district's boundaries were redrawn following the 2020 census to be significantly more ...
. The district, once represented by Republican
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...
Newt Gingrich, includes many of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
's
affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
northern suburbs, such as
Alpharetta Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Ch ...
, Roswell, Johns Creek,
Dunwoody Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. As a northern suburb of Atlanta, Dunwoody is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It was incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008 but its area establishment dates back to t ...
,
Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...
, Brookhaven, and parts of Tucker and Marietta. McBath is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...
. McBath's son, Jordan Davis, was murdered in November 2012. She then became an advocate for gun control, joining other mothers of black murder victims to form the
Mothers of the Movement Mothers of the Movement is a group of women whose African American children have been killed by police officers or by gun violence. Members of the group have appeared on various television shows, at award ceremonies, and political events to shar ...
, and spoke at the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
. McBath ran for the House of Representatives in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, defeating Republican incumbent
Karen Handel Karen Christine Handel (née Walker; born April 18, 1962) is an American businesswoman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, as Secretary of Stat ...
and defeating her again in
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
. McBath switched to the 7th district after redistricting in 2020 made the 6th significantly more favorable to Republicans; she defeated the 7th's incumbent,
Carolyn Bourdeaux Carolyn Jordan Bourdeaux (born June 3, 1970) is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Georgia's 7th congressional district since 2021. The district was based in Gwinnett County, an affluent suburban count ...
, in the Democratic primary and won the general election.


Early life and career

McBath was born in
Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...
, on June 1, 1960. Her father, Lucien Holman, was a dentist who owned ''The Black Voice'', an African-American newspaper, and served as president of the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
's Illinois chapter. Her mother, Wilma, worked as a nurse. Lucy has a sister, Lori. McBath attended
Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of highe ...
and graduated with a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
in political science in 1982. After college, she worked as an intern for former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder. In the 1990s, she became a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines and relocated to Atlanta, where Delta is headquartered.


Political activism

In 2012, McBath's 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed following an argument at a gas station in Florida about loud music. The shooting and its aftermath received national attention, and prompted discussion about controversial self-defense laws, commonly known as
stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense) ...
s. Her son's killer, Michael Dunn, was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Following her son's death, McBath joined Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America as a national spokeswoman. She attended a speech by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on gun violence at the White House and supported the
My Brother's Keeper Challenge My Brother's Keeper Challenge is a public–private partnership of the United States federal government which promotes intervention by civic leaders in the lives of young men of color. The program was initiated in 2014 with sponsorship of the White ...
. McBath also joined the gun control advocacy group
Mothers of the Movement Mothers of the Movement is a group of women whose African American children have been killed by police officers or by gun violence. Members of the group have appeared on various television shows, at award ceremonies, and political events to shar ...
, which consists of African American women whose children have been killed by gun violence. McBath opposed
campus carry In the United States, campus carry refers to the possession of firearms on college or university campuses. Each state has its own discretion on laws concerning campus carry. As of 2019, 16 states ban the carrying of a concealed weapon on a coll ...
legislation in Florida. McBath campaigned actively for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and spoke on her behalf at the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
. McBath created a foundation, Champion In The Making Legacy, to help high school graduates continue their education and training. McBath appeared in a 2015 documentary film, '' 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets'', that explored her son's shooting. She also appeared in the 2015 documentary film ''The Armor of Light'', in which
Rob Schenck Robert Leonard Schenck (born 1958) is an American Evangelical clergyman who ministers to elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C., and serves as president of a non-profit organization named for Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Since 1982, Schenck ...
, an
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
Evangelical minister, discusses gun violence in America; ''The Armor of Light'' won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2018

McBath credits her decision to run for office to a meeting with
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...
Renitta Shannon Renitta Shanbay Shannon (born December 29, 1979) is an American politician who currently serves as a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 2016, Shannon defeated a four-term Democratic incumbent. In January 2017, she was s ...
, who urged her to run. Several other factors contributed to her decision, including the
election of Donald Trump The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
and the undoing of previously enacted gun control measures. After initially planning to run for the Georgia House of Representatives against incumbent Republican Sam Teasley in 2018, she decided after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting to instead challenge
Karen Handel Karen Christine Handel (née Walker; born April 18, 1962) is an American businesswoman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, as Secretary of Stat ...
, the incumbent Republican in the United States House of Representatives representing . Although the 6th has historically tilted Republican, Handel was thought to be vulnerable. Trump barely carried the district in 2016. Handel defeated Jon Ossoff in a hotly contested 2017
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
that remains the most expensive U.S. House race in American history. In the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...
primary election on May 22, McBath led all challengers with 36% of the vote. She defeated Kevin Abel, the second-place finisher, in the July 24 runoff election with 53.7% of the vote. McBath faced Handel in the November
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and declared victory with 159,268 votes, surpassing Handel's 156,396 with 100% of precincts reporting. She became the first Democrat to represent this district since it moved to Atlanta's northern suburbs in 1993. Indeed, she was the first Democrat to garner even 40% of the vote in a general election for the district since Gingrich left office in 1999. A number of reports described McBath as the first Democrat to represent this district since Gingrich won it in 1978. But for his first seven terms, Gingrich represented a district that stretched across a swath of exurban and rural territory south and west of Atlanta; he transferred to the reconfigured 6th after the 1990 census. ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' called McBath's victory "the biggest Georgia Democratic upset of the 2018 midterms."


2020

McBath was discussed as a possible candidate in the 2020 Georgia Senate special election. According to ''
The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', Democrats considered her "one of the top potential contenders" for the seat. But she declined to run for that office, saying she preferred to continue focusing on her work in the House. McBath raised $620,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019. As of the end of 2019, she had $1.3 million cash on hand for her reelection bid. 93% of her contributions came from small-dollar donors. She won the November 3 general election with 54.2% of the vote in a rematch against
Karen Handel Karen Christine Handel (née Walker; born April 18, 1962) is an American businesswoman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, as Secretary of Stat ...
. She got a significant boost from Joe Biden carrying the district with 55% of the vote, the first time a Democrat had carried the district at the presidential level in its present configuration as a northern suburban district.


2022

In the 2021 redistricting session, McBath's district was significantly altered by Republican state legislators. Its share of heavily Democratic DeKalb County was cut out, replaced by conservative exurban counties such as Forsyth and Cherokee. The new configuration shifts the district from one that voted for Biden by double digits to one that voted for Trump by double digits, likely securing the seat for Republicans in the 2022 elections. Reports speculated that McBath could run in another district. In November 2021, McBath announced that she would run for reelection in the 7th district. Currently held by fellow Democrat
Carolyn Bourdeaux Carolyn Jordan Bourdeaux (born June 3, 1970) is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Georgia's 7th congressional district since 2021. The district was based in Gwinnett County, an affluent suburban count ...
, the district absorbed most of the more Democratic portions of the old 6th in redistricting, making it significantly bluer than its predecessor. McBath defeated Bordeaux in the Democratic primary.


Tenure

McBath cosponsored the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need ("HAVEN") Act, which gives disabled veterans bankruptcy protections. McBath co-sponsored legislation to extend
Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled i ...
eligibility to college students if their school closed or if school officials committed institutional fraud or misconduct.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...
**
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions is a standing subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Education and Labor. It was formerly known as the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations. Jurisdiction Fro ...
** Subcommittee on Workforce Protections * Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law ** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security


Caucus memberships

*
Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
* New Democrat Coalition


Political positions


Abortion

McBath supports legal
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...
. She has said she supports funding programs that give women "autonomy over their reproductive decisions".


Health care

McBath supports changes to the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
, also known as Obamacare. She opposes
Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...
. McBath supports expanding Medicaid in Georgia, and would lower the age of Medicare eligibility to 55.


Economy

McBath has said she is critical of some of the 2017 Republican tax cuts, but would like to make the temporary middle-class tax cuts permanent. McBath voted for the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. Before voting for the bill, the centrist New Democrat coalition (of which McBath is a part) secured some changes: a longer timeline to phase in the wage increases, and provisions that would pause wage increases if a federal study shows adverse economic impacts.


Gun control

McBath initially decided to run for Congress because she believed the government was not doing enough to prevent gun violence. She supports universal background checks before purchasing a firearm, as well as
red flag law In the United States, a red flag law is a gun violence prevention law that permits a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves. A judge makes the determina ...
s to keep guns out of the hands of people at risk of violence. During the 2018 election, McBath vowed to respect
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
rights. She also promised to push for "implementing background checks for all firearm purchases; raising the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 years of age; working to defeat conceal carry reciprocity measures; and introducing legislation to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and other criminals."


Immigration

McBath opposes abolishing the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
agency (ICE).


Donald Trump

Before the Trump-Ukraine scandal, McBath had been cautious about impeaching President Donald Trump, or opposed it outright. For instance, in the aftermath of the
Mueller investigation The Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials, and possible obstruction of justice by Trump and his ...
, McBath was one of 137 Democrats to vote to kill an impeachment resolution. In October 2019, McBath voted in favor of launching an impeachment inquiry into Trump. She sits on the
House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
, which has been tasked with handling some impeachment-related business. During a town hall event, she said she had felt "furious" about "the lack of accountability" from the Trump administration, due to what she called a lack of responsiveness to congressional subpoenas. At the same event, she said, "I don't like having to articipate in the impeachment process ... I don't want to have to say this about our President of the United States and the White House." On December 18, 2019, McBath voted for articles of impeachment against Trump on the House Judiciary Committee.


Joe Biden

As of August 2021, McBath had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.


Electoral history


Personal life

McBath grew up in a military family; her father, brother, nephew and cousin all served in the US military in some capacity. McBath has survived two bouts of
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
. She is married to Curtis McBath. They live in Marietta. McBath often speaks of tragedies she has faced. In 1993, she was rushed to the emergency room while pregnant with her first son, Lucien. She suffered a fetal demise and was admitted to the hospital to deliver Lucien naturally. A year later, she was pregnant again and gave birth to her son Jordan Davis. McBath is deeply religious and named him after the River Jordan in the Bible. In 2012, Davis was
murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
.


See also

* List of African-American United States representatives * Politics of Georgia *
Women in the United States House of Representatives Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber, since the 1916 election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman i ...
*
Doreen Lawrence Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE (''née'' Graham; born 1952) is a British Jamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


U.S. House websiteLucy McBath for Congress
campaign website * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcbath, Lucy 1960 births Activists from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American activists African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics African-American women in politics American gun control activists American women activists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Female members of the United States House of Representatives Flight attendants Living people People from Joliet, Illinois People from Marietta, Georgia Women in Georgia (U.S. state) politics Virginia State University alumni 21st-century American women 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women