Former congressman running for Georgia Supreme Court

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Democratic congressman John Barrow says he's running for a seat on Georgia's highest court.

Barrow of Athens announced his candidacy Monday for the Georgia Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Robert Benham. Barrow joins the race a few months after losing a December runoff election in a close 2018 contest for Georgia secretary of state.

Benham said Friday he plans to retire next year after three decades on the court. He became the court's first African American justice in 1989. His successor will be chosen in a statewide, nonpartisan election in May 2020.

Barrow is a Harvard-educated attorney who spent a decade in Congress before losing his eastern Georgia seat in 2014. He was the last white Democrat from the Deep South to serve in the U.S. House.

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