President Donald Trump’s dominance over the Republican Party was reaffirmed on Tuesday, March 10, after his preferred candidate to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took one step closer to filling the Make America Great Again matriarch’s shoes in Congress.
Republican Clay Fuller, a former prosecutor, came in second among a field of more than a dozen candidates in Georgia’s special election to replace Greene, who resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives in January after months of clashing with the president.
Fuller overcame all the other GOP contenders for the seat, which stretches from Atlanta’s northern suburbs into the Peach State’s mountainous Appalachia border with Tennessee.
Trump’s endorsement in early February helped Fuller, a 44-year-old retired Air National Guard member, stand out among other conservatives in the race who argued they were better suited to carry the torch.
“I think it is a reaffirmation that the voters (here) support the president (and) hear what he thinks about the people he wants to carry on his agenda,” Fuller told USA TODAY in a one-on-one interview shortly after the results were announced.
“Obviously, with him weighing in on this race, it’s important for him to have someone who’s going to be a MAGA warrior on Capitol Hill for him.”
Here are the big takeaways from Tuesday’s election.
Fuller favored in run-off contest against Democratic contender
Retired Brigadier General Shawn Harris, one of just three Democrats on the ballot, was the overall top vote-getter on March 10 after consolidating most of his party’s support.
But neither man received the required threshold under Georgia law of more than 50% to win outright, which means the two are headed for an April 7 runoff election.
Fuller is expected to prevail given the district’s conservative tilt. Harris ran against Greene in 2024 and was trounced by about 30 percentage points.
Trump’s support didn’t clear the GOP field, which some observers cast as a sign of weakness, but Fuller running away with the vote among the conservative contenders underscores that Trump remains the top dog among MAGA-leaning voters despite growing tensions with his populist base.
Whether it’s seeking to quiet ongoing affordability concerns, particularly among younger men, or demands to release all of the investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, Trump is facing more criticisms from the political right than ever before.
He is also battling other detractors within Republican ranks, such as Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., whom the president hopes to catapult out of Congress in his state’s May 19 primary. A perception as the unquestioned kingmaker is critical for Trump to keep his grip over the GOP ahead of what’s expected to be a thorny midterm election.
Iran didn’t come up much among GOP contenders
Georgia’s special election was among the first contests to take place after Trump launched strikes against Iran, a move that is polling badly and has kicked up gas prices.
The war has hit a raw nerve among MAGA supporters, particularly activists and online influencers who argue that entering into a conflict with a foreign country goes against Trump’s earlier pledges. But that divide didn’t show up among the Republicans running to replace Greene.
“The bloodthirsty Ayatollah Khamenei, architect of countless deaths among Americans and our allies worldwide, is finally dead. Rot in hell, you monster,” Fuller said in a Feb. 28 post on X.
Republican Colton Moore, a former Georgia legislator considered the next best GOP option, called out Fuller on several of issues, but noticeably did not publicly support or criticize the Iran strikes.
Nicky Lama, another Republican in the race, shared a quote from the Bible and a prayer for the U.S. soldiers killed, but he did not elaborate on his stance on the Iran airstrikes.
Greene could haunt Trump and potential successor
Greene was once one of Trump’s staunchest allies and defenders. That was until months of bitter public exchanges over various disagreements — including strikes on Iran last year — ended their political partnership.
She never alerted voters to her preference in the special election, and several GOP operatives in the state told USA TODAY such an endorsement would do more harm given her break with the president, who regularly refers to Greene as a “traitor” in public.
The former congresswoman has returned the favor, adding her voice to the anti-war drumbeat among MAGA figures in the face of Trump’s escalating actions against Iran.
“Trump has betrayed his campaign promises of no more foreign wars,” Greene said in a March 8 post on X, which also lamented how the conflict has resulted in rising gas prices, a daily cost of $1 billion, and killed roughly 175 people at an all-girls elementary school in Iran.
It is unlikely Greene will get involved in the runoff, experts say.
Some are speculating she will use her influence to sway the MAGA base in the 2028 presidential contest. Greene has recently expressed support for Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host.
University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock, a veteran political observer, said Greene could serve as more of a conscience for MAGA voters this fall who are suspicious about whether the president is remaining true to his promises or their causes.
“That poses potentially a broader risk for Republicans and Trump down the road if indeed others come to the conclusion she did that he has not delivered on his campaign rhetoric,” he said.
Trump, House GOP need backup in Congress
The vacancy matters in other ways, too, namely, how Republicans wield Congress for the remainder of the year.
Speaker Mike Johnson came into 2026 holding together a razor-thin GOP majority in the House that keeps being chipped away. Soon after Greene’s resignation, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., died in January, and Rep. Kevin Kiley, also of California, quit the Republican Party, citing the “hyper-partisanship” on Capitol Hill.
Kiley said he will continue to caucus with House Republicans, but didn’t promise to support their future measures as he will be looking to showcase his new independence.
That dwindles the GOP’s official majority to 217 members against the Democrats’ 214 members.
Adding Fuller to the caucus gives the speaker — and Trump — a bit more cushion when it comes to close votes.
Buttigieg stumping for Democratic contender
Most experts believe a Democrat doesn’t stand a chance in such a deeply red congressional district, which Trump won by roughly 36 percentage points in 2024.
But Democrats are turning out at a higher pace in elections across the country, including in areas the president dominated in past contests. Many who’ve criticized progressives for shying away from hostile political territory or media venues are hoping to expand the party’s electoral appeal this fall and beyond, and are taking heed.
The Harris campaign, for example, announced it is hosting former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a frequent Fox News guest, for a “conversation on service and leadership” on March 14.
Buttigieg, a rumored 2028 presidential contender, endorsed Harris’ longshot bid last month, saying there’s “no such thing as a permanently red state or district.”
Contributing: Irene Wright
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia takeaways. Big steps taken to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene
