Critics question if longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia is too old for reelection

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. But with early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is ignoring challengers and trying to glide to renomination.

Attacks on Scott are in some ways a microcosm of Democrats’ concerns about President Joe Biden, including claims that he’s too old and that he’s disconnected from young voters. He’s another example of how longtime members of Congress continue to serve even as they age, a drama that played out on a much larger stage last year with the illness and death of California Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

But unlike those cases, concerns about Scott’s health may not be resonating broadly, said Andra Gillespie, an Emory University political scientist.

“It’s the kind of thing that is talked about among insiders, among politicos,” Gillespie said. ”I don’t know how well that’s actually sort of been disseminated outside.”

Many voters are still figuring out what district they now live in. After a judge overturned Georgia’s previous congressional map as racially discriminatory, he approved a new Republican-drawn map with big shifts. Scott’s 13th District was shoved north and east into Rockdale County and parts of Newton and Gwinnett counties.

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