Trump pick wins race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress

ATLANTA (CN) — President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Clay Fuller resulted in success as the Republican won a special election in Georgia Tuesday to replace former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned in January.

Despite his Democratic opponent Shawn Harris securing the most votes in the initial race, Fuller won the election with 56% of votes as of 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In a closely-watched runoff, Fuller defeated Harris by over 14,000 votes. As a Democrat, Harris was able to make significant gains in the deep-red district as voters grew dissatisfied with the second Trump administrationdue to soaring fuel costs, economic uncertainty and the conflict in Iran.

Fuller’s ultimate success does not come as a complete surprise as the district was drawn to highly favor Republicans and championed Greene’s devout Trump loyalty when she was first elected in 2020.

Some political scientists did not anticipate Fuller’s win, however, as Trump’s endorsements have not led to victories in past Georgia elections, such as the 2022 U.S. Senate race, where the president’s pick Herschel Walker lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock.

After 17 candidates, mostly Republicans, vied for the open position, the March 10 election advanced to a runoff between Harris and Fuller, because no one received more than 50% of the vote.

Fuller will serve out the rest of Greene’s term until January 2027. His win maintains the party’s razor-thin 217-214 majority in the House of Representatives.

On Monday, Trump posted a message on Truth Social encouraging Republicans to go vote for Fuller.

“I am asking all Republicans, America First Patriots, and MAGA Warriors, to please GET OUT AND VOTE for a fantastic Candidate, Clay Fuller, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” the president wrote.

The military veteran and former district attorney touted his campaign as “faith, duty and America first,” flaunting his presidential endorsement and attacking what he called “the radical left” as he urged voters to keep the district red.

Even as Greene departed from the MAGA movement and Trump’s approval rates slump, Fuller’s victory signals the district’s voters were still determined to keep the seat out of a Democrat’s control.

Greene’s five-year tenure as a U.S. representative and firebrand Republican was cut short when she resigned after being declared a “traitor” by Trump for demanding accountability and the full release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the Federal Election Commission, Democrats invested over $6.4 million into Harris’ campaign, hoping to resonate with voters over the frustration with Trump expressed by Greene that led to her resignation.

Meanwhile, Fuller received over $1.2 million in committee fundraising with large contributions from Conservatives For American Excellence, a Las Vegas-based Super PAC, according to data from Quiver Quantitative.

Greene did not endorse anyone in the race and has instead used her platform to advocate against the war in Iran and to rip the Epstein files cover-up.

“Leadership matters. It was a fair race. It was a hard fought race,” Harris told his supporters at a watch party in Rome as he conceded Tuesday night.

Early voting for the runoff kicked off on March 30, drawing more than 106,000 total votes as of Tuesday night, according to voter data collected by the Georgia Secretary of State.

There are over 601,000 registered voters in the district, which covers all of Floyd, Polk, Chattooga, Catoosa, Dade, Murray, Paulding, Walker and Whitfield counties and a small but populous section of Cobb County.

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the Republican victory in a deep-red district signals voter sentiment remains in line with Trump’s policies and could foreshadow challenges for Democrats across the country.

Fuller’s campaign won’t come to an end as he must win over voters again to keep the seat on May 19. The primary, which typically has a higher voter turnout, will determine which Republican faces Harris in November for a full two-year term. Harris has no opposition in the Democratic primary, automatically placing him on the November ballot for a possible rematch with Fuller.

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