Harris, Fuller headed to runoff in race to replace Greene

Trump’s backing of Fuller also reflects his effort to reassert influence in Georgia after a disappointing 2022 midterm cycle, when all four of the challengers he supported against GOP incumbents were trounced.

This time, the president and his allies moved quickly to consolidate support behind Fuller in hopes of shaping the field in a district dominated by the MAGA base.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Fuller delivered his victory speech to a room full of supporters in downtown Rome as the election returns were displayed on a TV monitor. He said Trump’s support helped make the difference and pledged to back the president’s agenda if elected in the runoff.

“You look at that screen behind me, and you see what this man means to the people here in this community, what he means to the people in this country and what he means to the MAGA movement,” Fuller said. “He’s entrusted our campaign to carry it forward.”

Gov. Brian Kemp, who appointed Fuller district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit in northwest Georgia, applauded his performance and encouraged GOP voters to rally behind him.

“When I appointed Clay as District Attorney, I was confident that he would be a fearless advocate for the rule of law in our state,” Kemp said in a post on X. “As we head into the runoff election, Republicans must be united and send this proven, conservative fighter to Washington.”

June Cartee and her daughter, Lisa Chagnon, both voted for Fuller and said Trump’s endorsement had a big impact on who they decided to support.

“I think he is going to be helpful to our president, and I want someone who will support our president,” Cartee said.

The contest has drawn national attention after Greene’s abrupt resignation amid a bitter feud with Trump left a rare vacancy in one of the state’s most conservative districts.

Under pressure from state leaders wary of another Greene-style polarizing maverick, Trump and other GOP leaders quickly lined up behind Fuller — a sign of how seriously Republicans took the threat of a Moore candidacy in the deep-red district.

Nearly two dozen contenders filed to run for the vacancy, and by Tuesday, 17 remained in the running: 12 Republicans, three Democrats, an independent and a Libertarian.

Harris, a retired Army brigadier general and cattle rancher, finished with roughly 36% of the vote against Greene in 2024 — a high-water mark for Democrats in the district — and never stopped campaigning for the seat.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

He entered the race hoping to capitalize on the fractured GOP field and position himself as the leading Democratic alternative in the deeply red northwest Georgia district. Tuesday’s result was proof the strategy is working, he said.

“This shows Donald Trump doesn’t control northwest Georgia anymore. Give Shawn Harris a chance,” Harris said. “I want all those other votes. I promise you I’ll bring home the results.”

April and Seaborn Whatley were among the stream of voters at the precinct located at Hollywood Baptist Church in Rome. They are independent voters who both cast ballots for Harris.

Seaborn, an Air Force veteran, said he liked that Harris also had military service as a retired Army brigadier general. His wife said that Harris stood out among the crowded field vying for votes.

“I just feel like he is the most trustworthy candidate,” April Whatley said.

While Democrats face steep odds in the region, Harris’ campaign has focused on kitchen-table concerns such as health care costs and economic pressures, arguing that voters are more focused on everyday challenges than political spectacle. He also recently wore a bulletproof vest in public amid what he says were concerning threats to his safety.

“I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to prove,” he said. “People actually know me. And that’s why you’ll see Republicans, Democrats and independents voting for me.”

Under Georgia’s special election rules, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.

This race will only determine who fills the remainder of Greene’s unexpired term.

A separate May primary will decide nominees for the next full two-year term — a contest that could also head to a June runoff before the November election. Many of the same contenders, including Fuller, Harris and Moore, have also qualified for that contest.

A former prosecutor, Fuller has campaigned as a reliable ally of Trump’s agenda and promised to be a “warrior” for the president, who campaigned for him in Rome last month.

He won a nasty battle against Moore, an auctioneer and Trump loyalist who has long feuded with his own party.

Gov. Brian Kemp has called him a “grifter,” and he was expelled from the conservative Senate Republican caucus for sparring with his colleagues.

And last year, a scuffle involving Moore overshadowed Kemp’s State of the State address when Moore struggled with House staff and troopers who were trying to enforce a ban preventing Moore from entering the chamber after he insulted the memory of the late Speaker David Ralston.

Now the next phase of the race begins. Both campaigns are barely pausing, with plans to crisscross the district and bring in national political star power, including a visit this weekend from former presidential contender Pete Buttigieg to campaign for Harris.

And with Republicans holding a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House — 218 seats to Democrats’ 214 — the stakes could extend far beyond this corner of Georgia.