Carson Bonner, Campus Carrier editor-in-chief
Sydney Martinez, Campus Carrier news editor
Republican Clay Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris Tuesday in the special election runoff to fill former representative Marjorie Taylor Green’s seat in Georgia’s 14th district. After no candidate received a majority in the March 10 special election, Fuller and Harris, the top two candidates in the first round, advanced to the runoff. The Associated Press called the race after 45% of the votes were counted, leaving Fuller as the new representative for the northwest Georgia district.
This special election runoff came to be after the resignation of Marjorie Taylor Greene and subsequent election that resulted in a close race between Fuller and Harris. The runoff occurred due to neither candidate winning a majority of the votes.
Fuller received 57.2% of the votes, while Harris received 42.8% of the vote. Fuller won 17,082 more vote than Harris.
Fuller did not respond to requests for comment.
Harris said he did better than anyone expected, comparing his performance to Kamala Harris’ showing in the 2024 presidential election. The presidential candidate won 48.5% of the 14th district’s vote in 2024.
“We came up a little short, but we did not lose because nobody ever thought that a Democrat would actually have a performance like this,” Harris said.
Harris said he believes elections in Georgia are fair and that he will not push back on the results of the special election.
“Clay won it,” Harris said. “It was fair and square. It was a good race. The people have spoken, we move forward, but we get ready to fight again come November.”
Harris said that many young voters came up to him on the day of the election and told him that their first vote was for him. Hesaid that he will continue campaigning to show to the young voters that even though he faces defeat, he will continue working hard.
“I’m speaking to the young kid out there that said ‘my first vote was Shawn Harris,’ and I want to make sure that they see me proud, standing up and still fighting for them because at the end of the day, if you’re going to get into politics, somebody has got to win, somebody has got to lose,” Harris said. “That’s the deal. That doesn’t mean you stop. You continue to work and that’s what I’d be passing on to the young people.”
Harris is optimistic about the election in November, considering the diverse political backgrounds of his voters, with some republican voters posting signs in support of his campaign.
“We have absolutely no fear because we have Democrats and yes, Republicans are voting for us because they are ready for change,” Harris said.
Many people who supported Harris’campaign attended his electoral watch party, including Vincent Mendes, chair of the Floyd County Democrats.
“I’ll be honest, I was hoping for a different result,” Mendes said. “But when I look at the numbers as they came in, we won the early vote, and we got fully 10% closer in the final vote. It’s not that our work was for nothing, our work has paid off. It just hasn’t paid off in the way we want it.”
Mendes is running to represent the 13th district in Georgia’s state House of Representatives, which includes Rome and Berry. He plans to run a campaign based on face-to-face contact with constituents.
“I am not going to be able to outspend my opponent at all,” Mendes said. “What I’ll do is in person meet people, what they call retail politics, getting down and saying hello to people, meeting them and finding out what their wants are and what their needs are, and truing to see how I could possibly accommodate them.”
During his speech, Harris said he wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans were celebrating Fuller’s win. He believes people should watch Fuller’s actions leading up to the general elections in November to determine if he’s the right choice for the 14th district.
“Some people right now are saying ‘I’m so happy that the Republican won’,” Harris said. “But the question is, are you going to get results?”