David Scott

David Albert Scott (June 27, 1945 – April 22, 2026) was an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 13th congressional district from 2003 until his death in 2026. Scott's district included all of Rockdale County, as well as portions of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry, and Newton counties. Before his election to Congress in 2002, Scott served as a Democratic member of both chambers of the Georgia Legislature and operated a small business. From 2023 to 2025, he was the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.

Scott was born in Aynor, South Carolina, on June 27, 1945, but was raised initially by maternal grandparents in South Carolina and later by his paternal grandparents in Scranton, Pennsylvania before reuniting with his parents in Scarsdale, New York at age 11. His family relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida when he was 13 and attended Campbell High School. He received a bachelor's degree from Florida A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Scott was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

In 1978, Scott founded Dayn-Mark Advertising (from the names of his two daughters, Dayna and Marcie), which places billboards and other forms of advertising in the Atlanta area. Scott's wife, Alfredia, now heads the business. In May 2007, it was reported that the business owed more than $150,000 in back taxes and penalties. Scott's campaigns paid the company more than $500,000 from 2002 to 2010, including expenses for office rent, printing, T-shirts, and other services. He also paid his wife, two daughters, and son-in-law tens of thousands of dollars for campaign work such as fund raising and canvassing.

Scott served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983 and in the Georgia State Senate from 1983 to 2003.

When Georgia picked up an additional district (GA-13) as a result of the 2000 census, Scott entered a five-way Democratic primary in 2002 for the seat, winning with 53.8% of the vote. He then defeated Republican Clay Cox in the general election with 59% of the vote. He never faced another contest that close, and was subsequently re-elected eleven times. running unopposed in 2004, 2014, and 2016.

In 2007, the political watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Scott one of the 25 most corrupt members of Congress.

During his first two terms, Scott represented a district that twisted and wound its way through parts of nine counties and was barely contiguous in some areas. In a mid-decade redistricting held after the 2004 elections, the district was redrawn to be somewhat more compact, with its population centered in Clayton, Douglas, and Fulton Counties. Redistricting after the 2010 census gave the district all of Douglas County and pushed it further into Clayton.

On March 2, 2026, Scott qualified for the 2026 election.

Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development

Scott was ranked as the 18th-most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th Congress (and the second most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia) in the Bipartisan Index created by the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy, which ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship by measuring how often each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member co-sponsors bills by members of the opposite party.

Scott voted for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). On August 6, 2009, he was confronted by a constituent who was also a local doctor. The doctor, who later appeared in subsequent debates with his opposition candidate, asked Scott why he was going to vote for a health care plan similar to the plan implemented in Massachusetts and whether he supported a government-provided health care insurance option. Scott questioned whether the doctor was a resident of his district, although the local TV station WXIA-TV confirmed that the doctor did live and work in the district. Scott also said the doctor had not called Scott's office to set up a meeting about health care; this was not verified.

Although Scott voted against the first version of the 2008 bailout, he backed the final version "after being assured the legislation would aid homeowners facing foreclosures. Scott crafted an added provision dedicating $14 billion to aid those homeowners."

Scott supported two failed pieces of legislation in 2004 and 2006 that aimed to establish a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. However, in May 2013 thinkprogress.org reported receiving an email from a spokesman of Scott saying, "Congressman Scott fully supports marriage equality." The Human Rights Campaign's profile of Scott also contains this sentence as his statement under "position on marriage equality".

Scott opposed the nuclear deal with Iran, saying, "It's a good deal for Iran, for Russia, China and probably Hezbollah, but is it not, definitely not a good deal for Israel or for the United States or our allies – especially Jordan and Saudi Arabia".

Scott married Alfredia Aaron, the sister of Baseball Hall of Fame member Hank Aaron, in 1969. The marriage produced two daughters, Dayna and Marcye. Scott's grandson is Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal.

He allegedly received death threats over his support of the Affordable Care Act – a swastika was found spray-painted on a sign outside his district office.