If Elected, Jasmine Clark Could Make History As The First Black Woman PhD Scientist To Serve In Congress – AfroTech
Jasmine Clark could make history if elected to Congress.
Clark is a Georgia State Representative representing District 108. She has been doing so since 2019, per CBS News. She is now seeking to take over the seat previously held by the late U.S. Rep. David Scott, who was elected to Congress in 2002 after serving in the Georgia State Senate and House, according to the Georgia Recorder. Scott died in April 2026, but had intended to run for another term.
Clark is favored to win the Democratic primary for the seat, according to The 19th. Clark, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Emory University, has been a lecturer at her alma mater and has taught at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing for more than a decade, notes her bio from e-learning site Coursera. Clark has received financial backing from the 314 Action Fund, per the outlet. According to the organization’s website, the 314 Action Fund is dedicated to recruiting, training, and electing Democrats with science backgrounds to run for public office.
Clark has advocated for issues such as healthcare, maternal mortality, and research for prostate cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, which disproportionately impact Black patients, per 19th News.
“There are people in this district that will get the scariest diagnosis they will ever get in their life,” Clark told the outlet. “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 sees being a scientist as an advantage with experience both in academic research and with federal grants.
“It’s just a perspective that’s not in the room right now. And I’m not saying that 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,” Clark said, according to The 19th.
If elected, Clark would serve Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. She would also make history as the first Black woman Ph.D. scientist to serve in Congress, per The 19th.
“Whenever you’re the first, it’s almost like you become representative of what that will be, and so I do not take that lightly,” Clark told The 19th. “I feel like what I have, what I’ve accomplished, the things that I’ve been able to do, I do feel as if I’m ready for this moment,” she added.
