WASHINGTON — Republicans dashed Democratic hopes of scoring an upset victory and flipping former firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old congressional seat Tuesday.
Republican hopeful Clay Fuller, a former prosecutor who did a stint in the Air National Guard, easily defeated retired Army brigadier general Shawn Harris in a closely watched special election contest.
Fuller was leading Harris by a 54% to 46% margin when the Associated Press called the race in his favor.
Fuller’s victory is a sigh of relief for Republicans, who will now bump up their ultra-slim majority to 219 reps caucusing with the GOP, compared to 214 Democrats in the House.
Off-cycle elections, such as special contests, create the potential for lower turnout that could result in losses in Republican strongholds. Democrats have largely outperformed themselves in recent special elections relative to their performance in 2024.
Harris, 60, had excited some Democrats when he came out on top during the first round of voting (37.3% to 34.9%) in the jungle-style ballot on March 10, but that was largely due to a crowded Republican field that split the vote.
No one clinched an outright majority, leading to the runoff on Tuesday.
Harris, a cattle farmer, got trounced by Greene in 2024 by some 29 percentage points. The Peach State Democrat largely ran on affordability concerns.
The Georgian had outperformed Fuller on the fundraising circuit, hauling in some $6.5 million relative to the former prosecutor’s $1.2 million.
President Trump endorsed Fuller, 43, on the eve of the election.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He famously had a falling out with Greene last year, slamming her as a “traitor” for criticizing him. The spat culminated in her decision to step down from Congress earlier this year.
Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which Greene once represented, covers some Atlanta suburbs and encompasses parts of Appalachia near the Tennessee border. The district is seen as 19-points more Republican leaning than the rest of the country, per the Cook Political Report.
Still, Republicans were on guard, keen on avoiding a potential upset at all costs.
The GOP’s grip on the lower chamber had been winnowing over recent months due to resignations, and there are concerns it could slip further. Earlier this year, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) left the GOP but agreed to caucus with Republicans through the end of this session of Congress.
Last month, Trump let slip that Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) is suffering from a terminal illness. There have also been concerns about how long sexter Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) will remain in Congress amid the growing scandal that already forced him to drop his reelection bid.
Already, Republican leadership has struggled to win over libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) vote on key partisan legislation, allowing little room for error.
