Democrats pick John Lewis’ replacement

Former Planned Parenthood employee and state Sen. Nikema Williams will fill the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ spot on the ballot for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District in November. Williams stands a good chance of winning the seat Lewis, a civil rights pioneer, held from 1986 until his death on Friday from pancreatic cancer. He beat his last opponent in 2016 with 86 percent of the vote the in the metropolitan Atlanta district. Williams will face GOP nominee Angela Stanton-King, a TV personality and author whom President Donald Trump pardoned for her role in a car theft ring.

Who is Williams? She chairs the Georgia Democratic Party and has held a seat in the state Senate since 2017. She previously worked as vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast and is the deputy political director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Dig deeper: Read Mickey McLean’s report in The Sift on Lewis’ death.