If Elected, Jasmine Clark Would Be the First Black Woman Ph.D. Scientist in Congress

Jasmine Clark could make history if voters send her to Washington.

Clark currently represents Georgia's House District 108 and has served in the State House since 2019, according to CBS News. She is running for the U.S. House seat long held by the late Rep. David Scott, who died in April 2026 after a political career that included service in the Georgia State Senate and House and in Congress since 2002, the Georgia Recorder reports.

The 19th reports Clark is favored to win the Democratic primary. A trained scientist, Clark earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from Emory University and has lectured at Emory while teaching for more than a decade at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, details from her Coursera biography show. Her campaign has received financial support from the 314 Action Fund, which focuses on recruiting and electing Democrats with scientific backgrounds.

Policy Priorities and Scientific Perspective

Clark has made healthcare, maternal mortality, and cancer research central to her campaign. She has emphasized the need for more research into prostate cancer and triple-negative breast cancer—areas that disproportionately affect Black patients. Clark stresses that scientific research is often the source of new treatments and hope for families facing life-threatening diagnoses.

“There are people in this district that will get the scariest diagnosis they will ever get in their life,” Clark told The 19th. “And they’re going to want to know what is out there that can prolong my life or save my life, and that stuff comes from research.”

Clark also points to her scientific training and experience with academic research and federal grants as practical qualifications that would inform her approach to federal policymaking.

“It’s just a perspective that’s not in the room right now,” she told The 19th. “I’m not saying people aren’t fighting for these things, but they’re not fighting for them from the perspective I’m fighting for them—having a Ph.D. in microbiology, but also just having that science lens.”

If elected, Clark would represent Georgia’s 13th Congressional District and, according to The 19th, would become the first Black woman who is also a Ph.D.-trained scientist to serve in Congress. Clark has said she understands the responsibilities of being a trailblazer and believes her experience has prepared her for the role.

Context: Clark’s campaign highlights a growing national conversation about the value of scientific expertise in elected office and the importance of diversity of backgrounds among lawmakers.