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GA Voters to Choose Greene Successor 03/10 06:12
ATLANTA (AP) -- Months after Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned from Congress
after a falling out with President Donald Trump, voters in her Georgia district
will vote for her successor in a special election Tuesday.
With top candidates including Republicans Clay Fuller and Colton Moore and
Democrat Shawn Harris, this round of voting could be only the first step in an
elections marathon in northwest Georgia's 14th Congressional District.
Fuller, a district attorney endorsed by Trump, is hoping to avoid an April 7
runoff, which would be necessary if no candidate wins a majority of votes in
the district that stretches across 10 counties from suburban Atlanta to the
Tennessee state line.
"We need to win this thing on March 10 and send an America First warrior to
fight for President Trump," Fuller told a crowd in Rome, Georgia, on Feb. 19
before a speech by Trump.
But with 12 Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent
running in the all-party special election, that may be difficult, even after
five Republicans withdrew
The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene's term. But if they
want to remain in Congress beyond next January, they will have to run again.
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 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.
Harris, a cattle farmer and retired general, promises moderation and a focus
on the district's problems. However, a Democrat is unlikely to prevail in the
14th District, which is rated as the most Republican-leaning district in
Georgia by the Cook Political Report.
Voters there 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.
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