Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller wins Marjorie Taylor Greene’s
former House seat in Georgia
[April 08, 2026]
By JEFF AMY
RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) — Republican Clay Fuller on Tuesday won Marjorie
Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia, turning back a
Democratic challenge with the help of President Donald Trump’s
endorsement despite uneasiness over the war in Iran.
In a deep red district that Greene won by 29 points and Trump carried by
almost 37 points two years ago, Fuller was on track to prevail by about
12 points with almost all votes counted. The result added to a string of
special elections where Democrats performed better than expected, a
track record that the party hopes will create momentum toward November's
midterm elections when control of Congress hangs in the balance.
In another election held Tuesday, a Democratic-backed candidate for the
Wisconsin Supreme Court won by double-digit margins, growing the liberal
majority there.
Fuller insisted that his victory over Democratic candidate Shawn Harris
in Georgia was a testimony to Trump's staying power.
“They couldn’t beat Donald Trump and they never will,” he told
supporters in Ringgold, near the border with Tennessee. “And I will be
on Capitol Hill as a warrior to have his back each and every day.”
However, Trump’s escalating rhetoric had some Republicans concerned,
even in this deep red district. The president had set a deadline for
Tuesday at 8 p.m. — one hour after polls closed in Georgia — for Iran to
reach a deal with the United States, saying that “a whole civilization
will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” However, he later
announced a two-week ceasefire to allow negotiations to continue.
Acworth resident Jason McGinty said he was worried Trump was “about to
go too far" and "may be committing a war crime” if he followed through
on threats to bomb power plants and other infrastructure in Iran. He
voted for Fuller to “make sure the America First party is still in
place.”
Retiree Judy McDonald agreed with the president’s decision to go to war
but was “very anxiety-ridden” over the conflict.
“Eventually we will have peace and the Iranians will kind of come to a
conclusion that they won’t have a country if they don’t stop the
terrorism,” she said.
Some Democrats hoped the election would send a message to Trump
Fuller will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term, bolstering
the party’s slim majority in the House, where Republicans control 217
seats to Democrats’ 214, with one independent.
He’ll have to face another Republican primary on May 19 to win a full
two-year term, and could face a June 16 party runoff. Harris is already
the Democratic nominee for November.
Retiree Melinda Dorl supported Harris “so it sends a message to Trump
and his cronies that people aren’t happy," she said.
“This war was totally uncalled for. Trump is a liar. Everything he says
is a lie,” Dorl said, adding that Trump was wrecking relationships with
countries that have traditionally been American allies.
Harris, a cattle farmer and retired general who describes himself as a
“dirt-road Democrat,” stirred enthusiasm even among supporters who
expected him to lose.
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Attendees listen as Republican Clay Fuller speaks during an election
night watch party after winning a special election for Georgia's
14th Congressional District, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Ringgold,
Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
“I voted for the Democrat even though this is a very red district
and the Democrat has almost no chance of winning,” said Michael
Robards, a software engineer from Kennesaw who calls himself a
center-right independent. He said he wants to see Trump’s policies
rolled back and the president again impeached.
Georgia's 14th District stretches across 10 counties from suburban
Atlanta to Tennessee. After losing to Greene two years ago, Harris
said his strong showing this time would be a stepping stone to
November.
“We’re going to beat him next time,” Harris said on Tuesday in Rome,
Georgia.
Fuller said he had withstood Democrats’ best punch.
“The left did their best. They poured in millions upon millions of
dollars,” Fuller told reporters. “And what you’re seeing is the best
that they can accomplish.”
Fuller had presidential support
Trump endorsed Fuller, a district attorney who prosecuted crimes in
four counties, to succeed Greene in February, boosting him over
other Republican candidates in a crowded field.
Greene, once among Trump’s most ardent supporters, had split with
the president by criticizing his 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.
Outside of Congress, Greene has continued to assail Trump.
“Trump was elected to go to war against America’s deep state and to
end America’s involvement in foreign wars,” she wrote on social
media on Tuesday. “Not to kill an entire civilization while waging a
foreign war on behalf of Israel, another foreign country.”
However, Fuller has backed Trump to the hilt — including the war —
and has identified no issue on which he disagreed with the
president.
Trump reiterated his support for Fuller on Monday night and then
again on Tuesday.
“To the Great Patriots in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District: GET
OUT AND VOTE TODAY for a fantastic Candidate, Clay Fuller, who has
my Complete and Total Endorsement!” the president wrote on social
media.
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