A Democrat just outpolled Donald Trump's handpicked candidate in a district the president won by 37 points.
Retired Army Brigadier General Shawn Harris topped Tuesday's special election in Georgia's 14th Congressional District with 37% of the vote. Trump-endorsed Clay Fuller trailed at 35%. The two now head to an April 7 runoff, and the result has already sparked questions aboutTrump's grip on his strongest territory.
The short answer:Marjorie Taylor Greene's chaotic exitblew the race wide open.
Greene resigned in January after a very public feud with Trump over his handling of Jeffrey Epstein files and his foreign policy direction. She didn't go quietly. In an interview with NBC News'Meet the Pressbefore stepping down, Greene said 'America First should mean what was promised on the campaign trail in 2024' — a direct shot at the president she once defended at every turn.
Trump fired back, calling her a 'traitor' and withdrawing his endorsement. Greene announced her resignation days later.
That split fractured Republican unity. Twelve GOP candidates jumped into the race. Democrats ran three. Harris consolidated opposition support while Republicans tore into each other.
Harris has raised more than $4.3 million (£3.2 million) this campaign cycle, according toFederal Election Commission filings. Fuller reported roughly $787,000 (£585,000). That's a 5-to-1 fundraising advantage.
Harris used it to blanket the district with ads hitting 'out of touch politicians' who 'don't understand how difficult things are for hardworking Georgians.' The message tapped directly into cost-of-living frustrations that have dogged both parties.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg endorsed Harris, telling supporters: 'There's no such thing as a permanently red state or district.'
Fuller, a district attorney in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit who served as a White House fellow during Trump's first term, called himself a 'MAGA warrior' at a February rally with the president in Rome, Georgia.
Source: International Business Times UK
