Biden Adviser Rep. Cedric Richmond COVID-Positive After Georgia Rally

the Georgia Recorder

By Julie O'Donoghue

December 18, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden and a who’s who of Georgia Democrats appeared at an Atlanta campaign rally Tuesday with a Louisiana congressman who has tested positive for COVID-19, but others there say they don’t expect they’re at high risk of infection from the open-air event.

Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat who represents a district stretching from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, is a close adviser to Biden. He found out he had COVID-19 Wednesday.

The congressman, 47, said in a brief interview late Thursday that he is experiencing mild symptoms, but feels mostly fine and is in quarantine in New Orleans.

Richmond will serve as Biden’s director of the Office of Public Engagement in the White House. He traveled to Georgia Tuesday to campaign for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock as the state’s unprecedented twin Senate campaigns barrel toward a Jan. 5 runoff with Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Biden’s transition team announced that Richmond had not been in close contact — as defined by the Centers for Disease Control — with Biden, Ossoff or Warnock. Biden tested negative for the virus Thursday.

“Richmond’s interactions with the President-elect happened in open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes,” the Biden transition team said in a written statement Thursday evening.

Georgia Democrats at the event who say they were not in close contact with Richmond at the event include Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Stacey Abrams and congresswoman-elect Nikema Williams.

Two people who drove a car for Richmond in Georgia may have been exposed to COVID-19 and are remaining in quarantine. The transition team said neither of these people were staff for Biden or the Georgia Democrats’ campaigns.

Richmond said he will not return to his work with Biden’s transition or Congress for at least 14 days and after he has tested negative twice for COVID-19. The congressman will step down from his job representing New Orleans and points north to join the Biden administration next year.

Richmond is one of several Louisiana elected officials to test positive for COVID-19. He follows Attorney General Jeff Landry, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson and State Treasurer John Schroder — who have recovered from the virus. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser announced he tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms Wednesday.

Georgia Recorder Editor John McCosh contributed to this report.

This story was originally published by the Georgia Recorder. For more stories from the Georgia Recorder, visit GeorgiaRecorder.com.