Kwanza Hall enters race for lieutenant governor

ATLANTA — Former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who also served in Congress for about a month, is running for lieutenant governor.

Hall entered the Democratic race for the state’s No. 2 post on Monday, the opening day of the weeklong candidate qualifying period.

Hall was elected to the city council in 2005 and served three terms before launching an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Atlanta in 2017.

Hall was elected to Congress late in 2020 to complete the unexpired term of the late U.S. Rep. and civil rights leader John Lewis, D-Atlanta. However, he served in the position only one month before giving way to current Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who won a full two-year term that began in January of last year.

His brief term ended four days before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump.

“We have to move on from the 2020 election and focus on what Georgians need — better jobs throughout the state, academic freedom for our teachers and university staff, transportation and infrastructure improvements, and to give every Georgian, no matter where they live in the state, the ability to earn a living wage and access to a hospital,” Hall said Monday in a prepared statement.

The lieutenant governor’s seat is open this year because Republican Geoff Duncan decided not to seek re-election.

GOP candidates in the race include Georgia Senate Pro Tempore Butch Miller of Gainesville, state Sen. Burt Jones of Jackson and Savannah activist Jeanne Seaver.

Joining Hall in the Democratic field are state Reps. Erick Allen of Smyrna, Derrick Jackson of Tyrone and Renitta Shannon of Decatur.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.