Voters in Georgia have moved on from Marjorie Taylor Greene. On Tuesday, they finally fill her seat

By Jeff Zeleny, CNN

(CNN) — Finally, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat will be filled in Congress.

Three months after Greene abruptly left Washington in the midst of a remarkably bitter feud with President Donald Trump, voters in northwest Georgia on Tuesday are poised to cast their ballots — again — in a runoff election to replace her.

Republican Clay Fuller, a former district attorney, and Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army officer, emerged as the top two contenders from a crowded special election March 10. They have been locked in a head-to-head battle for the last month that will be resolved Tuesday.

Republicans are focused on simply finishing the job in the deep-red district, hoping a Fuller victory offers a bit of breathing room for the party’s narrow House majority.

Democrats are mindful of the uphill climb in the conservative bastion, but eager to see whether Harris’ margin shows a level of enthusiasm that could offer signs of strength for Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection bid and in the open Georgia governor’s seat this fall.

It’s an open question whether deep national skepticism over the Trump administration’s Iran policy will seep into the runoff, but party strategists say the contest could serve as an early test of how voters perceive the war as military action continues well into a second month, with economic consequences rising.

The candidates, both of whom are veterans, have taken starkly different positions on Iran, a conflict that has unfolded during the duration of their campaign.

Harris calls it “a war of choice.” Fuller has defended US military action, saying: “Our country is safer because of what President Trump has done regarding Iran.”

The winner of Tuesday’s election will serve the remainder of Greene’s term, which ends in January. Both men have already signaled their intentions to run for a full term in November in new campaigns that begin with their respective primary elections on May 19.

The deeply personal feud between Trump and Greene — a fierce ally turned critic — dominated the conversation among voters at the beginning of the year but receded to the background as the months have worn along.

While Greene has kept up her relentless criticism of Trump, particularly by sharply questioning his Iran policy, the president has barely mentioned her publicly after branding her as “Marjorie Traitor Greene.”

‘This district will not elect a Democrat’

Greene’s resignation touched off a dizzying series of back-to-back campaigns and elections in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which covers 10 counties stretching from the Atlanta suburbs to the Appalachian foothills along the Tennessee state line.

Her departure from Congress also narrowed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s already slim majority, which is among the reasons that Trump injected himself into the March special election in hopes of avoiding a runoff and backed Fuller over other candidates who also sought his support.

The president’s endorsement helped Fuller surge to the front of a crowded Republican field, but Harris still narrowly outpaced him by winning about 37% of the vote. If Republicans consolidate their support around Fuller, he is expected to handily win Tuesday.

March 10 results

For her part, Greene has stayed on the sidelines of the contest to replace her but told CNN that she intended to vote for Fuller.

“This district will not elect a Democrat,” said Greene, who ran against Harris in 2024 and decidedly won with 64% of the vote.

For Harris, that margin underscores the monumental challenge he faces in a district Trump won by 37 percentage points in 2024. Still, he has sought to energize Democrats, motivate independents and identify disillusioned Republicans to join his campaign — even if they come secretly.

“Voting is not church,” Harris said in an interview earlier this year. “You don’t have to confess. You just have to go in there and do what’s best for you, your family and your grandkids.”

After winning the most votes in the special election last month, Harris said the results showed a Democrat could compete in the heavily Republican district.

“Yes, it’s ruby red,” Harris said. “It won’t turn blue, but it’ll definitely turn pink.”

For his part, Fuller has campaigned relentlessly as “a warrior for President Trump on Capitol Hill.” He has called Trump “the greatest foreign policy president in our time.” He also has made the case that his presence in Washington could be helpful to Republicans if Democrats win control of Congress.

“If we lose the majority in the House, we are going to be facing constant impeachments on the Hill of President Trump and you need a prosecutor to stand up there and protect President Trump,” Fuller told voters at a forum earlier this year. “That’s what I’ve been my entire career as an elected district attorney. You need people on Capitol Hill who know how to fight a legal process an argue a case.”

At an Atlanta Press Club debate late last month, Fuller expressed his support for Trump again and again, which prompted Harris to declare: “He has sold his soul to Donald Trump.”

A referendum on Trump’s present and future standing

The runoff election on Tuesday is only the latest referendum on Trump in a state that has long stood as a leading barometer for his popularity and performance.

He won the state in 2016. He lost it in 2020, which placed it at the center of unfounded claims of widespread election fraud. He won it again in 2024.

Georgia is among the states that are the most critical to the outcome of the fall’s midterm elections, with one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation, a wide-open contest for governor and competitive state legislative races.

For all of the challenges facing Trump and Republicans, the ability to keep his winning coalition together will be at the center of the fight for control of Congress as voters give their verdict on the actions of the first half of his second term.

The special election on Tuesday could deliver a measure of hope for Republicans — or for Democrats — with the margin of the Fuller-Harris race watched nearly as closely as the result.

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