Everton Blair Becomes First Openly LGBTQ Congressman from Georgia

34-year-old Democrat Everton Blair was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington on September 1, 2026, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from the state of Georgia. He is also the first openly gay Black man to represent a Southern state at the federal level.

Blair won a special election held on August 25 in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. He received 53.2% of the vote in the runoff, defeating Marcye Scott, the daughter of the district’s previous representative, David Scott, who passed away in April. House Speaker Mike Johnson conducted the official swearing-in ceremony.

According to The Washington Blade , the politician will serve the remainder of his predecessor’s term, which expires on January 3, 2027. Blair will not participate in the November general election for a full term, as he previously lost the Democratic Party primary.

Everton Blair advocates for a progressive platform, supporting Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage, and mandatory universal gun background checks. In Congress, he has joined the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and became a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which advocates for LGBTQ rights.

Prior to his election to Congress, Blair, the son of Jamaican immigrants and a graduate of Harvard and Stanford universities, chaired the Gwinnett County Board of Education. He was also the first Black member, the youngest member, and the first openly gay member of that board. His campaign was supported by specialized political action committees, including the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Equality PAC.