Northwest Georgia congressional candidates jockey for runoff spot, unexpected departures and more

This week brought the usual last-minute chaos of Crossover Day with plenty of candidate qualifying week surprises mixed in.  

Candidates from both major parties made the trek to the state Capitol this week to submit their paperwork and cut a check to make their candidacy official. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and his GOP challengers passed through, as did candidates for statewide offices – including all the candidates hoping to take up residence in the governor’s mansion next year – and legislative and congressional seats across the state. 

A runoff for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District seems likely. But which two candidates are mostly likely to advance?

This time next week, we may not know who will replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress, but the list of candidates will be significantly narrowed down.

Tuesday is Election Day in the conservative northwest Georgia district, and the nation will be watching to see which of the 18 remaining candidates get the most votes. If none of them get more than 50%, which is likely given the large number of candidates, a runoff election will be held between the top two candidates April 7.

The candidates for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District were at the state Capitol this week qualifying for the 2026 regular election while the March 11 special election is underway. 

Republican Clay Fuller, the former district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit who received the endorsement of President Donald Trump, said he’s planning for a runoff against the Democratic frontrunner, Shawn Harris, a farmer and retired Army brigadier general. 

“I think there’s a narrow path for us to win it on March 11th,” he said in an interview after qualifying this week. “Obviously, that’s the preference because the tragedy for the district is they’ve been without representation since Jan. 5. I think it’s important for us to unite as a party and make sure that we have representation on Capitol Hill fighting for the good, hardworking people in Northwest Georgia and fighting for President Trump, but we’re also prepared to go and beat Shawn Harris in a runoff here on April 7.” 

Speaking to the Recorder Monday at the Capitol, Harris expressed confidence that he could win outright without even needing to go to a runoff. That would be a seismic upheaval in a district that the Cook Political Report calls the most Republican leaning district in the state.

“I’m not only feeling good about making it to a runoff, I’m feeling real good about winning it flat out,” he said. “We know we’re going to get all of the Democratic vote. We know we’re going to do extremely well with the independents. And we know we’re pulling roughly somewhere between 15% and 20% when it comes to  Republicans.”

Harris, who has run as a centrist, said disillusionment with Trump administration policies, including the new war in Iran, will spur Republicans to vote for him.

While a runoff is likely, the names on the ballots won’t be certain until the votes are counted, and other candidates say they’ve got a good shot.

Former state Sen. Colton Moore’s brash behavior in the state Legislature earned him the ire of party leaders but some measure of support among conservatives in the district. 

Moore, who recently called Trump “the greatest president of our lifetimes,” predicted in a text message Thursday that his local support would be enough to outweigh the president’s endorsement. He said he expects to be the one in a runoff with Harris next week.

“We have the grassroots, Fuller has the swamp money,” Moore said.

Several notable departures from the Legislature and last-minute maneuvers

Some longtime lawmakers had already announced their retirements. Among them were GOP Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, Newnan Republican state Rep. Lynn Smith, Gainesville Republican state Rep. Emory Dunahoo and Savannah Democratic Rep. Carl Gilliard. 

But by the end of the week, more lawmakers had joined the list. 

Sen. Ed Harbison, a Columbus Democrat who was first elected 1992, and Sen. Elena Parent, an Atlanta Democrat who serves as the minority caucus chair, both announced their retirements from the Senate. In the House, Sandersville Democratic Rep. Mack Jackson and Atlanta Democratic Rep. Dewey McClain are hanging it up, too. 

Some lawmakers rolled out their plans for higher office. Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat, is running for Parent’s Senate seat, and Rep. Teddy Reese, a Columbus Democrat, qualified to run for Harbison’s seat, as did Harbison’s son. 

Sen. Nabilah Parkes, a Duluth Democrat, jumped from the race for insurance commissioner to lieutenant governor. 

Suspended lawmaker launches state Senate campaign

Suspended state Rep. Sharon Henderson is running for higher office – despite having been pulled off the job in connection with charges that she fraudulently collected unemployment benefits.

Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the Covington Democrat from her legislative duties after she was accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of collecting nearly $18,000 in COVID-19 related unemployment benefits, but this week she qualified to run for state Senate District 43. 

That district has a Democratic incumbent, Sen. Tonya Anderson of Lithonia, who has also filed paperwork to run for re-election. Another Democrat, Donald Ferguson of Rockdale, who listed his occupation as law enforcement, has also registered to run for the seat.

Two other Democratic House members have also been accused of pandemic-related unemployment fraud by federal prosecutors, Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain, who resigned her seat in early January, and Dexter Sharper of Valdosta. Sharper did not qualify to run again. 

Henderson spoke with reporters after filling out paperwork to run Thursday, but only answered questions on her ongoing legal case with “No comment.”

“I’m a go-getter, I’m a woman that’s professional, a woman of class, a woman of dignity, a dignified woman, powerful woman, a professional woman,” she said. “And I will continue to do so at my job as I have in the past.”