Gun control activist Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012, won the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
On Tuesday night, McBath defeated businessman Kevin Abel by about 2,000 votes. She now faces Republican Representative Karen Handel in November.
The 6th Congressional District has not elected a Democratic representative for nearly 40 years. If McBath wins, it will be a major win for both gun control activists and Democrats alike.
McBath’s son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed by a white man at a Jacksonville, FL gas station. The shooter, Michael Dunn, complained that Davis and his friends were playing music too loudly in their car. (Dunn was later sentenced to life without parole for the killing.)
His death compelled McBath to fight for gun control. She quit her job as a Delta flight attendant and became the spokesperson for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
McBath’s original plan was to run for a seat in the state House, but the high school shooting in Parkland, FL, early this February pushed her to run for higher office.
“It’s just not enough to have the marches and the rallies and the speeches and the remarks,” McBath told CNN a few weeks ago. “Championing for them in Washington is still championing for my child, I’m still a mother, I’m still parenting. That’s why I believe this was the time to stand up.”
McBath’s campaign platform includes background checks for all gun sales; the defeat of legislation that make it easier for gun owners with concealed carry permits to cross state lines; raising the age for gun purchase to 21 years old; and keeping guns away from domestic abusers and criminals.