by Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

February 17, 2026

Early voting began Monday in the race for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, and candidates are racing to set themselves apart from the crowd – and often from the district’s previous representative, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene resigned from her seat last month, spurring more than 20 candidates to throw their hats in the ring, including 16 Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent candidate. Several recent drop outs have narrowed the field to 18.

With so many names on the ballot, it’s likely that none of them will earn more than 50% of the vote in the March 10 election, which will trigger a runoff between the top two candidates on April 7. Whoever wins will serve out the remainder of Greene’s term and will be set to run for re-election in November.

The outcome will determine who represents the district but also help tip the scales in a House of Representatives with 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. The 14th District was drawn to favor a Republican.

At a recent pair of forums as part of the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, Republican candidates largely sought to cast themselves as supportive of Greene’s policies while opposed to her combative style.

“The biggest difference between Marjorie and I is I don’t believe in theatrics and drama,” said Republican Reagan Box, who owns a horse training business. “Too much of our politics has separated and divided us as a nation when really we are all fighting the same basic problems, and I’m here to be a voice of common sense and reason.”

Republican Brian Stover agreed.

“One of the biggest differences between me and Marjorie Taylor Greene is I’m kind of a quiet kind of guy,” said Stover, the founder of a waste hauling business. “I’m a workhorse, not a showhorse, and I like to get in there and get things done.”

The Trump effect

President Donald Trump is headed to the district Thursday to tout his economic agenda at an event in Rome, according to the White House

Republican Clay Fuller, former district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, touted a recent endorsement from Trump.

“If you want to see a prosecutor, an elected district attorney, if you want to see a military veteran on Capitol Hill, if you want to see somebody who stands for faith, duty and America first, my name is Clay Fuller, and I’m asking for your vote,” he said. “I should be the next congressman for Georgia 14 because President Trump has chosen our campaign and endorsed us to carry on the MAGA agenda into the next decade.”

But many of the other Republicans on the ballot say they’re the best positioned to carry the MAGA torch.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s Atlanta Press Club event, former state Sen. Colton Moore called Trump’s endorsement “unfortunate” but said that Trump is “the greatest president of our lifetimes.”

Moore, who butted heads with members of his own party in the Legislature, which led to him being suspended from the Senate Republican Caucus and banned from the GOP-led House chamber. He would go on to be arrested for trying to get in anyway, after which House Speaker Jon Burns lifted the ban.

The Trenton Republican is running as an outsider more in Greene’s vein.

“I’m running for Congress to make sure that our next representative doesn’t just blend in with the curtains and we actually have a true fighter who represents a biblical worldview and the Constitution,” Moore said. In my time in the Georgia Legislature, no one has ever fought harder against corruption than I have.”

Immigration differences display fractures?

Candidates at the forum were split on immigration policy, and not entirely on party lines.

“I think we should double the number of ICE agents and border patrol agents,” said Republican Jim Tully, chair of the 14th District GOP. “I think this country has been overrun. Some estimates have us at plus 20 million over the past four four years or so. These people came here illegally. They crossed a river, they jumped a fence, they came across everywhere but a border crossing. They are here illegally, and they need to go back to where they came from.”

Other Republicans like Meg Strickland, a travel consultant contractor, offered a more moderate perspective.

“I agree that closing the border is imperative. We also were told that we would only be deporting criminals. That’s not what we’re seeing,” she said. “What I think is that Congress started this problem, and Congress is the one that needs to finish it, legislatively. Deportation only is not a solution. We need a long-term strategy for whoever is president to create a legal pathway for residents here. If someone has been here for 10 years, has no criminal past and is gainfully employed or in school, they should be able to stay and work legally.”

The 14th District is home to Dalton, which has a large immigrant and Latino population.

Speaking to reporters after the debate, Democrat Shawn Harris said discontent with ICE’s tactics has contributed to widening the rift among 14th District conservatives.

“When Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump went through their divorce, I call it a divorce, and then when Marjorie quit on the people of northwest Georgia, now the Republican Party is in a civil war with themselves,” said Harris, a retired Army Brigadier General and farmer. “And as you listen to the debate, you can actually hear it’s a difference in the different Republicans that I’m running against.”

Winning the race as a Democrat will be easier said than done. The 14th District is considered the most likely in the state to favor a Republican, according to the Cook Political Report. Harris challenged Greene in 2024 and earned just over 35% of the vote.

You can watch videos of the Atlanta Press Club’s District 14 forums in which candidates shared their views on a number of foreign and domestic issues at the Atlanta Press Club’s Youtube. Because of the number of candidates, the event was split into two forums: Part One and Part Two.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.