Race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene intensifies over presidential visit
The president visited Rome, Georgia, where a special election is being held to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned in January.
Rome, Georgia — We’re weeks away from the special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, and the race will continue with a runoff.
Tens of thousands of voters went to the polls in northwest Georgia on Election Day Tuesday, but after the results started coming in, it was clear that no winner would be announced that night.
Democrat Sean Harris received the highest overall vote share at 37.33%, but was far short of the 51% majority needed to claim victory. Republican Clay Fuller came in second overall with 34.87% of the vote, just 3,000 votes shy of Harris’ lead.
The election comes a full two weeks after President Trump traveled to Rome, Georgia, to endorse Fuller in person and speak at a steel warehouse facility about tariffs and a variety of other topics.
But how much did Trump’s support and influence in longtime MAGA strongholds actually influence Tuesday’s election results?
Fuller and Harris drew different conclusions.
Fuller thanks President Trump in election night remarks
At the Canoe House in Rome, Fuller’s family, supporters and reporters looked at the screen as vote counting took place across the district.
It quickly became clear that the race was heading to a runoff, and less than two hours after voting closed, numerous news outlets reported the race had been canceled.
After being introduced to the audience by Mike Collins, a leading Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Fuller took the microphone and began his remarks by thanking God.
Fuller then thanked his supporters, staff and his wife Kate Fuller.
“In addition to all the people in this room who made this possible tonight, there’s one person in particular that I really have to remain grateful to,” Fuller continued. “For those of you who are wondering how much President Donald J. Trump means to this country, to Georgia, and to the state of Georgia, you can look at the screen behind me and see what this man means to the people of this region, what he means to the people of this country, and what he means to the MAGA movement.”
Fuller went on to say that President Trump has “entrusted” the next 10 years of his campaign to the MAGA movement. He said he would be a “warrior” for Trump in Washington.
“I think it reaffirms that voters (here) are listening to the people who support the president (and) want to carry out his policies,” Fuller told USA Today chief political correspondent Philip Bailey in an interview shortly after the results were announced.
If everyone who voted for a Republican in the first election voted for Fuller in the runoff, Fuller would receive about 59.6% of the vote, enough to win.
The Republican with the second-highest number of votes was Colton Moore, a former state representative who was strongly aligned with Trump but ultimately lost ground. In the final stages of the election, Moore began directly attacking Fuller with claims about his past supporters and his personal life, leading to Fuller releasing a video and statement calling the attacks “disgraceful.”
Mr. Moore denied a message sent to voters in Mr. Fuller’s campaign attacking Mr. Fuller’s family.
“When you have strong support and are running a strong campaign, arrows are bound to come your way,” Fuller said in a March 9 post on the X show. “I’m not afraid of a tough fight or even the lies that will come from desperate politicians who have been passed over by President Trump.”
Harris says Republicans have a ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene’ problem
Harris said at her election night event at her campaign headquarters in Rome that while Republicans may have narrowed their support, the rift between Trump and Greene may be larger in northwest Georgia than Fuller realizes.
“I was in this very office the day Donald Trump got here. He was less than three miles down the road,” Harris told USA Today in a one-on-one interview on election night. “You can still drive your car like a normal day…and then you realize, oh, Donald Trump didn’t realize it, but the Marjorie Taylor Greene factor was at play. As long as these big debates and these big divorces are happening, the Republican Party has a problem.”
In an interview with MSNow on Tuesday evening, Harris said her team’s goal is to get the most votes in the first election, knowing there will likely be a runoff, and to build a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans for a new era of politics in northwest Georgia post-MTG.
“The reality is we’re seeing it tonight. President Trump came here two weeks ago Thursday and absolutely nothing has changed,” Harris said. “When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll start all over again.”
Harris supporters told USA Today as they left the polls on Tuesday that her demeanor and respectful view of politics were part of what drew them to support her, a welcome change from Greene’s years of constant controversy.
“I’ve been raised to respect people, so everything that’s going on between (Colton) Moore and Fuller, all the back and forth, I’m going to ignore it,” Harris said. “That’s not my nature, that’s not my character. I’m going to stick to the facts…If Fuller wants to attack me, that’s his business, but at the end of the day, it speaks to his character. I think he and I should have a discussion. We should discuss the facts and go from there and let people vote.”
Ms. Harris has received a unique endorsement from prominent Democrat Pete Buttigieg, a former Secretary of Transportation who supported Ms. Harris for the seat. Harris and Buttigieg will host a joint event in Dallas, Georgia, on Saturday, with a discussion expected to focus on veterans. Both Harris and Buttigieg served in the U.S. military.
Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
