Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., has died at the age of 80, according to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
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“Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” Jeffries told reporters. “David Scott was a trailblazer who served the district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House [Agriculture] Committee. He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.”
NBC News reached out to Scott’s office for comment.
Scott was first elected to Congress, representing a district outside of Atlanta, in 2002. He was running for re-election for a 13th term in the House.
The first Black chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, he was replaced as the committee’s top Democrat by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in 2024 as the party looked to bring in younger committee leadership.
His death also follows several other lawmakers who have died in recent years. Last year, Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas; Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.; and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., died last year. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., died earlier this year as well.
His death brings the party breakdown in the House to 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats and one independent — Rep. Kevin Kiley, who caucuses with Republicans.
Under Georgia election law, the governor must declare a special election within 10 days of a vacancy, and the special election must be at least 30 days after that declaration.
