Activist and lawmaker Attica Scott is in close competition for Kentucky’s Democratic congressional primary with Sen. Morgan McGarvey, reported The Associated Press. The election comes after Kentucky’s only Democratic representative, John Yarmuth, announced his retirement last year.
Scott was a former Louisville metro councilwoman and was previously arrested at a Breonna Taylor protest in 2020. Scott feared for her life as the crowd of peaceful protestors clashed with officers in riot gear with batons and tear gas. She was charged with first-degree rioting and two misdemeanors which were eventually dropped.
Following the event, Scott drafted Breonna’s Law which aimed to ban no-knock warrants in Kentucky. Now, she’s headed toward Congress.
More on congressional primary race from AP News:
In their bids to replace Yarmuth, the current House Budget chairman and a well-known progressive voice in Washington, Scott and McGarvey both support “Medicare for All,” decriminalizing marijuana, more laws to fight climate change and universal, federally funded pre-kindergarten.
Scott emerged as a prominent Democratic voice in 2020, when she marched with other demonstrators in support of racial justice. One of three Black women in the Kentucky House, she chose to run for Congress to take matters into her own hands.
“One of the things that 2020 showed us is that we can no longer sit and wait for a savior,” Scott said. “That’s not going to happen. We have to save ourselves.”
Scott said she vows to push for better infrastructure in the 3rd District, fight for environmental justice and elevate the voices of residents who feel overlooked, per AP News.
Her competition, McGarvey, has endorsement from Yarmuth and other lawmakers as well as extensive experience in writing and passing 18 bills. His stance has been in resistance to the Republican-dominated state legislature, supporting bills restricting transgender rights and abortion access.
Voters will choose Tuesday between the two, reported AP News.