Kentucky State Representative, Attica Scott, announced her candidacy for United States Congress. Rep. Scott, who is currently one of two Black women in the Kentucky state legislature, has become a pivotal figure in both the statewide and national movement for police accountability, in the aftermath of Breonna Taylor’s 2020 killing by Louisville police.
She will seek the Democratic nomination for Kentucky’s third U.S. Congressional district.
“I am running for Congress for the Louisvillians who have asked me for years to run, including the Black women who have never had a representative from Kentucky in Congress who looks like us,” Scott said in a virtual campaign launch event. In an accompanying news release, she also touted her previous legislative efforts in maternal health, police reform, minimum wage increases and banning required disclosure of criminal records on job applications, according to the Louisville Business First Journal.
Scott served from 2011-2014 on the Louisville Metro Council where she chaired the Vacant Properties Committee, and she chaired the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund Work Group. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Bellarmine University and at Jefferson Community and Technical College. In 2016, she was elected to represent Kentucky’s 41st legislative district.
Following Breonna Taylor’s tragic death by the hands of Lousiville police, Scott took action to ensure the safety of Kentuckians against police violence by introducing legislation that would ban no-knock warrants in the state and mandate the use of police cameras, known as ‘Breonna’s Law.’ She frequently took to the frontlines of public demonstrations against Louisville police, and in September 2020, she was arrested for protesting the acquittal of the police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s fatal shooting, alongside her daughter.
The arrests garnered viral attention, however, charges against both women were ultimately dismissed.
Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district is currently represented by eight-term Congressman John Yarmuth. Yarmuth, a Democrat, currently serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee. While Yarmuth holds an influential committee post, and has received the backing of Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, in the primary, Scott has built a strong, progressive coalition within the district, which has the highest concentration of Black voters in the state.
Scott didn’t directly criticize Yarmuth during her campaign launch. She addressed her decision to challenge the eight-term congressman by stating, “Why, after beating a 30-year incumbent from my own party and then holding that seat successfully with no challenges for three terms — why would I choose to take on this challenge?”
In 2016, Scott became the first Black woman to serve in the state legislature in 20 years. If elected to represent the 3rd congressional district, she would make history again as the state delegation’s first Black woman representative. The primary vote will take place next year, in 2022.
Jordan Wilson is the Co-Founder and Chief Political Officer of Politicking. Through Politicking, she aims to promote voting and political engagement among young Americans by providing a mobile platform for non-partisan election news and data. She is currently pursuing her J.D. at Boston College Law School, where she serves as a Fellow with the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. Jordan holds a B.A. in Political Science from Howard University.
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