GA House Race Progresses to Runoff     03/11 06:26

   

   ROME, Ga. (AP) -- Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller advanced 
to a runoff for Marjorie Taylor Greene's former U.S. House seat in Georgia 
after no candidate won a majority in Tuesday's special election.

   President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller, a district attorney who 
prosecutes crimes in four counties, to succeed Greene in Georgia's 14th 
Congressional District. Greene, once among Trump's most ardent supporters, 
resigned in January after a falling out with the president.

   Trump's endorsement didn't boost Fuller to a majority of the vote in a 
14-candidate field that included nine Republicans, three Democrats, a 
Libertarian and an independent. But Fuller said he was confident he could bring 
Republicans together to beat Harris on April 7.

   "I think the Republican Party is going to unite around us because they know 
that the Democrat is too dangerous," he said Tuesday night. "We can't have a 
Democrat representing Georgia 14. That would be a tragedy for our community, a 
tragedy for Georgia 14 and a tragedy for the MAGA movement."

   Trump congratulated Fuller for "getting such a high percentage of the vote" 
with so many other Republicans in the race.

   "Clay will be a GREAT Congressman -- HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" the 
president wrote on social media.

   Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, will face an uphill 
battle to win a majority in the heavily Republican district. Nevertheless, he 
was leading in the hours after the polls closed and Democrats are likely to 
boast of his success as they have focused on strong performances in special 
elections.

   Harris has contrasted himself with Greene's bomb-throwing style, saying 
practical-minded Republicans should vote for him because he will work for 
constituents "not for somebody else who's already in D.C."

   "The way I'm going to go to Congress is that it's going to be a coalition of 
Democrats, independents and Republicans," Harris said Tuesday night.

   The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene's term. A 
Republican win in the northwest Georgia district would bolster the party's slim 
majority in the House, where Republicans currently control 218 seats to 
Democrats' 214.

   Fuller was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration and is a 
lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard. He finished fourth in the 
2020 Republican primary that Greene won. He credited Trump's nod for propelling 
him to the runoff.

   "They want to know who President Trump was endorsing in this race," Fuller 
said. "And that's why they came out in droves to support him, because they want 
an America First fighter on Capitol Hill fighting for his policies that are 
going to make a difference for our community."

   Harris said he's not worried about further Trump intervention.

   "If Donald Trump wants to come and do what he wants to do, that's his 
business," he said.

   This round of voting is only the first step in an elections marathon in the 
Georgia district. 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 for a full 
two-year term. That includes Fuller, as well as Colton Moore, a former state 
senator and favorite of far-right activists who was poised to finish third on 
Tuesday, short of the runoff.

   Those who backed Democrats said they were repelled by Trump and eager to 
reduce his power.

   "There just needs to be checks and balances and I don't think we have many 
of those right now," said Matthew Wisniewski, a Dallas resident who voted for 
Harris.

   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.