Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller are headed for an April 7 runoff to fill Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia, after neither candidate secured a majority in Tuesday’s special election.
Fuller, a district attorney, received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in February.
He described Trump’s backing as “rocket fuel” for his campaign. However, this support was not enough to clinch an outright victory in a crowded field of 14 candidates, which included nine Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent. The election saw all candidates compete together, with the top two advancing.
Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, faces a significant challenge in the heavily Republican district. Despite this, Democrats are expected to highlight his strong showing as another success in recent special elections. Harris has campaigned on a platform of moderation and addressing local issues, drawing a clear contrast with Greene’s more confrontational approach.
The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term. A Republican win in northwest Georgia’s 14th Congressional district would bolster the party’s majority in the House. The district stretches from suburban Atlanta to the Tennessee state line.
Fuller was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration and is a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard. He finished fourth in the 2020 Republican primary that Greene won before becoming a district attorney. Fuller had set an outright win as his goal for Tuesday’s vote.
This round of voting is only the first step in an elections marathon in the Georgia district. Republicans and Democrats seeking a full two-year term are set for a May 19 party primary, and possibly a June 16 party runoff, before advancing to the general election in November.
Last week, 10 Republicans and Harris qualified to run in November’s election for a full two-year term. That includes Fuller, as well as Colton Moore, a former state senator and favorite of far-right activists who drew attention for a vociferous attack on Trump’s prosecution in Georgia for alleged election interference.
For some, support for Trump hasn’t wavered. Presley Stover of Dallas, Georgia, voted for Fuller. She said she doesn’t agree with the president on everything, but supports him on the whole.
“I think as of right now, he’s doing a great job,” she said. “He’s definitely helping us a lot more than Biden did. I mean, as of now, they’re not the best, but you’re not gonna change anything overnight.”
Some Republicans, though, were unaffected by Trump’s nod.
“God, no. That’s not going to sway me one way or the other,” said Brendon O’Laughlin of Dallas, noting he voted for Brian Stover, a Republican from his area. O’Laughlin said he was looking for a change in style from Greene.
Those who backed Democrats said they were repelled by Trump and eager to reduce his power.
“There just needs to be checks and balances and I don’t think we have many of those right now,” said Matthew Wisniewski, a Dallas resident who voted for Harris.
But voters on a whole in the district embraced Greene’s hard-right campaign in 2020, when she parachuted into the district after aborting a campaign in a more closely contested district closer to Atlanta.
Greene was one of the most well-known members of Congress until she left in January. She remained loyal to Trump after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, promoting Trump’s falsehoods about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
But Greene began clashing with Trump last year after he and other Republicans pushed back against her running for U.S. Senate or governor. Greene criticized Trump’s foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.
Returning another Republican to Congress would bolster the party’s narrow majority in the House. Republicans currently control 218 House seats to Democrats’ 214.
