Rep.-elect Nikema Williams (D-Ga.-05)

Date of birth: July 30, 1978

Residence: Atlanta

Occupation: Georgia state Senator, deputy director of civic engagement at National Domestic Workers Alliance and deputy executive director at Care in Action

Education: B.A., Talladega College

Family: husband, Leslie Small; son, Carter

Nikema Williams (D) faces the tall order of filling the vacant House seat left empty by the death of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), which he held for more than 30 years.

Currently serving in the Georgia state Senate, Williams, 42, was the first Black woman to serve as chair of the Georgia Democratic Party and is also a member of the Democratic National Committee.

After Lewis died in July, Georgia Democrats chose Williams to run in his place.

While in the state Senate, Williams has been a champion of legislation aimed at helping families and women. She has also been outspoken about Georgia’s less-than-stellar record on voting rights, something that her predecessor Lewis made his life’s work.

– Marty Johnson