{"id":2773,"date":"2026-03-11T10:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2773"},"modified":"2026-03-11T10:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:23:08","slug":"georgia-takes-first-step-at-replacing-taylor-greene-election-takeaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2773","title":{"rendered":"Georgia takes first step at replacing Taylor Greene. Election takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

President\u00a0Donald Trump’s dominance over the Republican Party was reaffirmed on Tuesday, March 10, after his preferred candidate to replace former Rep.\u00a0Marjorie Taylor Greene\u00a0took\u00a0one step closer to filling\u00a0the Make America Great Again matriarch’s shoes in Congress.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Greene, who resigned\u00a0from the U.S. House of Representatives in January after months of clashing with the president.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\"President<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Trump boasts business at State of the Union, clashes with Dems<\/h2>\n
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President Donald Trump\u00a0delivered the first State of the Union of his second term on Feb. 24, 2026, promoting the economy and calling the U.S. \u201cthe hottest country anywhere in the world.\u201d
\nHe highlighted growth in business and manufacturing and pushed his immigration agenda, citing mass deportations and a sharp drop in border crossings. The speech came as Trump faces pushback from the Supreme Court over tariffs, rising tensions with Iran and a 60% disapproval rating that threatens to hurt Republicans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Here are the big takeaways from Tuesday’s election.<\/p>\n

Fuller favored in run-off contest against Democratic contender<\/h2>\n

Retired Brigadier General\u00a0Shawn 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump looks on as Republican congressional candidate Clay Fuller speaks at the Coosa Steel Corporation in Rome, Georgia, on Feb. 19, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump’s support didn’t clear the GOP field, which some observers\u00a0cast 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.<\/p>\n

Whether it’s seeking to quiet ongoing affordability concerns,\u00a0particularly among younger men, or demands to release all of the investigative\u00a0files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, Trump is facing more criticisms from the political right than ever before.<\/p>\n

He is also\u00a0battling other detractors\u00a0within Republican ranks, such as Rep. Thomas\u00a0Massie, R-Ky., whom the president hopes to catapult out\u00a0of 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.<\/p>\n

Iran didn’t come up much among GOP contenders<\/h2>\n

Georgia’s special election was among the first contests to take place after Trump launched strikes against Iran, a move that is\u00a0polling badly\u00a0and has\u00a0kicked up gas prices.<\/p>\n

The war has\u00a0hit 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.<\/p>\n

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Supporters of strikes, regime change in Iran celebrate worldwide<\/h2>\n
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Anti-Iranian regime protesters wave a giant Iranian flag before the 1979 revolution with the Lion and Sun emblems (R), an Israeli flag (L) and a US flag (rear C) as they gather during a march in support of the US and Israel attack on Iran and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, in Paris on March 1, 2026. Iranian state television confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026, after US President said he had been killed. The announcement came after the United States and Israel started launching waves of strikes against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“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\u00a0Feb. 28 post on X.<\/p>\n

Republican Colton Moore, a former Georgia legislator considered the next best GOP option,\u00a0called out Fuller\u00a0on several of issues, but noticeably did not publicly support or criticize the Iran strikes.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Greene could haunt Trump and potential successor<\/h2>\n

Greene was once one of Trump\u2019s staunchest allies and defenders. That was until months of bitter public exchanges over various disagreements \u2014 including\u00a0strikes on Iran last year \u2014 ended their political partnership.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“Trump has betrayed his campaign promises of no more foreign wars,” Greene said in a\u00a0March 8 post on X, which also lamented how the conflict has resulted in\u00a0rising gas prices, a\u00a0daily cost of $1 billion, and killed roughly 175 people at an\u00a0all-girls elementary school\u00a0in Iran.<\/p>\n

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her career in photos<\/h2>\n
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), speak to members of the press while exiting the U.S. Capitol after introducing a motion to vacate on the floor of the House of Representatives seeking to remove Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his leadership position May 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. The House voted 359 to 43 to table the motion to vacate.<\/span>