Rep. David Scott (D-Georgia) has died at age 80, according to House Democratic leadership, ending a more than two-decade tenure in the House in which he rose to the ranks of a committee chairman.
Scott’s office did not immediately provide a cause of death.
Scott, who had served in the chamber since 2003, was seeking a 13th term in his safely Democratic district. He had faced calls from some colleagues and other Democrats to step aside to make way for a new generation of Democratic leadership in Georgia.
After his previous reelection, colleagues voted Scott out as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee due to various health issues that led to absences.
With Scott’s death, Democrats now hold 212 seats and Republicans hold 217. The chamber also includes a former Republican who is now an independent.
Scott was born in South Carolina and raised in Pennsylvania, New York and Florida. He moved to Georgia after receiving an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He established an advertising firm in Atlanta and launched his political career in 1974, when he was elected to the Georgia legislature.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts), the House Democratic whip, said in a statement Wednesday that Scott “was a stalwart champion for working families and farmers, in his beloved Georgia and across the country.”
“Under his leadership, Democrats fought to strengthen our agricultural communities, reduce hunger, and bring the American Dream within reach of everyone,” Clark said.
Scott is survived by his wife, Alfredia, two children and grandchildren.
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