Latino

Latino group urges state lawmaker to make primary challenge to Democrat for Georgia House seat

by Rafael Bernal - 04/18/19 9:14 AM ET

An influential national Latino political group on Thursday launched a campaign to draft state Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero (D) to run for Georgia’s 7th congressional district.

The campaign, dubbed “Run, Brenda, Run,” was launched by the Latino Victory Fund, which last month ran a similar campaign encouraging Assistant Speaker Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) to run to replace retiring Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

{mosads}If Lopez enters the race, it could generate a contentious Democratic primary fight.

Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) won reelection in 2018 by just more than 400 votes over Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux, who has pledged to run again in 2020, and has raised more than $350,000 for her campaign.

The Latino Victory campaign comes with support from big names in the Georgia Democratic Party.

Both Georgia Assembly House Minority Leader Bob Trammell and House Democratic chair James Beverly spoke out to encourage López to challenge Bourdeaux.

“Brenda Lopez Romero is a proven legislator who knows how to get things done, and that’s exactly why we need Brenda to run for the United States Congress. I proudly join this effort, because Georgia deserves a leader like Brenda in Washington,” Beverly said in a statement.

Georgia’s 7th district is a diverse and urban district that’s been increasingly in the sights of Democrats.

It’s a majority-minority district where 45 percent of the population is white, 21 percent is black, 14 percent is Asian and 19 percent is Hispanic.

Georgia as a whole has a significant and growing Hispanic population, but has never sent a Hispanic representative to Washington.

“State Representative Brenda Lopez Romero knows the importance of building a pipeline of qualified and viable Latino candidates in Georgia. I am proud to have worked closely with Brenda to make sure we are training the next Latino leaders in our state,” said Jason Esteves, the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education Board chair

“Now more than ever, we must show Brenda Lopez Romero that a grassroots army is ready to have her back and that we want her to run for Georgia 7th Congressional District,” added Esteves.

Tags Georgia Latino Victory Fund Rob Woodall Tom Udall