By Cade Fowler - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – In the battle for control of Congress, 8th District Democrat is Jim Marshall has a fight on his hands with Republican Austin Scott. The polls show the State Representative from Tifton is the favorite.
If you had asked Austin Scott this time last year about where he would be tonight, he would have said "Hopefully the GOP candidate for governor."
Remember he started the walk across Georgia campaign. But his sights on the Gold Dome shifted to the Dome on Capitol Hill, and since April he's unleashed, at least according to those early polls, a successful campaign to unseat District 8 incumbent Jim Marshall.
"We stayed focused on the issues. We ran a strong campaign, and we're happy to be where we are in this race, and we're looking forward to the vote count tonight. And with any of the polls, the only that counts is the one tonight, after the voters have spoke," Scott said.
This is a race that is attracting national attention. Republicans need 39 seats to gain a majority in the House, and the GOP is hopeful they have one of those in Austin Scott.
A recent poll had him with a double digit lead over Marshall. We spoke to him about his campaign journey to this point and his thoughts heading into today's election.
We caught up with some voters this afternoon in Tifton. District 8 itself stretches from Macon metropolitan all the way to Moultrie.
Below the gnat line is Austin Scott's territory. He lives in Ashburn, served Turner and Tift counties in the State House.
However the Bibb County vote will play a huge role in the outcome of this race that's where Jim Marshall lives. He served as Mayor of Macon.
He won handily in 2008 as a Blue Dog Democrat in a typically conservative district that can go either way.
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