In this Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 file photo, Tom Perez, left, chair of the Democratic National Committee, and Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, speak with reporters, in Atlanta. Georgia Democrats have selected state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the state party, to replace Rep. John Lewis on the ballot in November. (AP Photo/Ron Harris, File)
Georgia Democrats have selected state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the state party, to replace Rep. John Lewis on the ballot in November.
The executive committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia voted overwhelmingly on Monday for Williams to take Lewis' spot on the ballot for the Atlanta-area 5th Congressional District after the longtime congressman and civil rights leader's death last week.
Williams, 41, was chosen from a list of five finalists as the group works to quickly fill the spot in accordance with state law. She is nearly assured of winning in November in the heavily Democratic district.
The state party said it received 131 applications for the spot. The group was then narrowed down to five finalists, who spoke before the committee of senior state party officials.
Williams beat out state Rep. Park Cannon, Georgia NAACP President James Woodall, Atlanta city councilman Andre Dickens and Robert Franklin, former president of Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Williams has served in the state Senate since 2017 and is the current chair of state Democratic Party. She will face Republican Angela Stanton-King in November. Stanton-King is a reality TV personality and was pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump for her role in a stolen car ring, after serving six months of home confinement in 2007.
Lewis won more than 84 percent of the vote when he last faced a Republican opponent in the district in 2016.
The seat will remain empty until Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp schedules a special election. The Republican governor has given no indication when he will hold an election with just over six months left in Lewis' term.
Lewis, 80, died Friday, several months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Funeral plans have not been announced. Kemp declared flags in Georgia will be at half-staff until sunset of the day of Lewis' funeral.
Hundreds of people came to a giant mural of Lewis near his downtown Atlanta home Sunday to pay their respects.
Flowers, balloons, photos, candles, and cards piled up at the base of the building where "HERO" was written above the painting of Lewis speaking.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end, funerals begin in Uvalde, Texas one week after a mass shooting killed 19 children and two adults, and President Biden meets with the world's biggest boy band BTS.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 6.3% in April from a year earlier, just below a four-decade high set in March and the first slowdown since November 2020.
The pain and grief from this week’s shooting in a 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is still with us. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier ends the week by pausing to remember some of the faces of the 19 children killed and their teachers.
Cheddar New’s reporter Megan Pratz reports from the scene in Uvalde, Texas, with additional details that indicate the shooter was inside Robb Elementary School for more than an hour before law enforcement was able to confront and kill him.
U.S. stocks ended near session highs to close Thursday's session after retailers released positive earnings results. Investors also continued to weigh the federal reserve's recent indication that the central will raise rates in an effort to curb inflation. Adam Johnson, Portfolio Manager for Adviser Investments, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
After the horrific mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, activists are once again urging Congress to take action. Trevon Bosley, a gun violence prevention activist, joined Cheddar News to talk about how to push legislators on the issue of new gun restrictions. “Even 10 years later the same sense of hopelessness from before," Bosley said, referring to the lack of change since the Sandy Hook massacre.
In Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the SEC violated the U.S. Constitution. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo dives into how the ruling could potentially change everything for regulators.
