Harris and Fuller head to a runoff for District 14
Clay Fuller and Shawn Harris speaking after the Special Election for Georgia District 14 went to a runoff.
ROME, Ga. (WDEF)- After nearly two dozen candidates initially entered the race to replace Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene after her resignation from Congress in January, two candidates now remain.
Clay Fuller ended up being the Republican to survive the field of over a dozen GOP candidates.
He had been previously endorsed by President Donald Trump last month during a rally in Rome.
Fuller, who was previously the District Attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, says that while he would have loved to finish off the race Tuesday, he knew the election would be a battle.
He says he believes that he will be able to unite conservative voters and maintain District 14 as a Republican stronghold.
Fuller said, “Get out, we’ve got another race to win, and we’re going to win it. We’re going to go to Capitol Hill, and we’re going to fight for you each and every single day so thank you so much and tonight, we celebrate, so thank you!”
Fuller received more than triple the votes of his nearest Republican challenger, Colton Moore.
Meanwhile, Democrat Shawn Harris hailed his result on top of the first round of voting as a victory.
A democratic candidate has never won District 14 since it was created in 2010.
Harris received the highest vote share ever by a Democratic candidate in the district.
He says he believes his victory shows that due to ongoing economic pressures, voters in Northwest Georgia may be open to a change in representation.
Harris said, “I think what you’re going to see here real soon is that people are going to say that “I’m going to put aside, this time, party. I’m going to vote what’s best for my kids and grandkids, and that’s why I have nothing but confidence tonight, and confidence tomorrow, and the day after that, that more and more Democrats and Republicans and Independents are going to come my way.”
He added he while he is not anti-war, he does believe the recent actions in Iran by President Trump need to be scrutinized.
Meanwhile, the next closest challenger for the seat was former State Senator Colton Moore.
At a watch party in Lafayette, he conceded the race, saying, “Folks, I really appreciate each and every one of you for coming out tonight. but if you look at the poll numbers, they don’t look very good for us. Unfortunately, not every RINO can be wrangled. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop wrangling RINOs, alright?”
To replace Moore, Republican Lanny Thomas and Democrat John Zibulk will head to a runoff for the State Senate District 53 seat.
These two runoff races will be held in four weeks on Tuesday, April 7.
