Who will replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress?

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she is resigning from Congress after a very public and bitter falling out with President Donald Trump.

Once Greene steps down in early January, Gov. Brian Kemp will set the dates for a special election to determine who will serve the remainder of her two-year term representing Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. He has 10 days to do so, and that election must be at least 30 days from the date of the governor’s proclamation.

There won’t be a traditional primary with Republicans and Democrats on separate ballots; all candidates will appear on the same ballot. However, if no candidates receives more than 50% of the vote then the top two will have a runoff roughly a month after the first election.

Georgia’s 14th District in northwest Georgia. is heavily Republican, and it is very unlikely a Democrat could win even if a member of the party makes it to the runoff.

Whoever replaces Greene will have incumbent status if they choose to run for a full term in 2026. So who are some of the GOP candidates who have said they are running or whose names are floating about?

ALREADY RUNNING

Star Black: The former employee of the Federal Emergency Management Administration was already running as more establishment GOP alternative to Greene.

Jeff Criswell: The owner of a baseball memorabilia company, Criswell said he was running as a centrist Republican option in the 14th. Last year he was the sole Republican candidate in the 6th District in suburban Atlanta, losing decisively in the general election against U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED

Christian Hurd: The 10th-generation Georgian and U.S. Marine Corps veteran was born and raised in the 14th District. He describes himself as an “America First conservative” and is running for office for the first time.

THE POSSIBLES

Clayton Fuller: The district attorney for the four Northwest Georgia counties that comprise the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit was rumored to be the top recruit as Trump looked for someone to primary Greene. He was among the candidates in 2020 but was a distant fourth in the GOP primary.

John Cowan: The Bartow County-based neurosurgeon lost to Greene in the GOP runoff in 2020. He had marketed himself at the time as just as conservative as Greene but not as problematic given her many controversial statements prior to taking office.