Trump endorses candidate in crowded field to fill MTG’s House seat

Twenty-two candidates hope to succeed former Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress. But one of them, District Attorney Clayton “Clay” Fuller, now has the inside track.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed Fuller and said he had the backing of other party leaders, too.

“He is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in Georgia, and many Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Clay Fuller has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Georgia’s 14th Congressional District — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

Voters will soon get their say. Early voting begins in two weeks ahead of the March 10 special election.

Fuller, district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit spanning four counties in northwest Georgia, ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2020, failing to make it to the GOP runoff in a contest Greene ultimately won. It was rumored that Trump had attempted to draft him to challenge Greene in the primary this year, but that became a moot point when she announced her resignation in November.

Nearly all of the GOP candidates in the race say they support Trump and his agenda. But only Fuller can say he has the president’s support.

“This is the honor of a lifetime,” he wrote on X in response to the endorsement. “I will not let you or Georgia’s 14th District down. Our work to put America first is just getting started!”

The question now remains whether the endorsement clears the field. Even before Trump’s announcement, candidate Christian Hurd said he would seek a state House seat instead and encouraged voters to support Fuller. That brought the number of Republicans seeking the congressional seat down to 16.

That list includes former state Sen. Colton Moore, who is being backed by the far-right Georgia Republican Assembly. Moore was a controversial figure during his time in the Legislature and openly feuded with fellow Republicans at the Capitol.

Shawn Harris, one of three declared Democrats in the field, is also familiar to voters because he ran against Greene in the 2024 general election. He said he is focused on reaching out to Republicans who feel Trump isn’t doing enough to lower health care costs or improve the economy, and believe his immigration enforcement is heavy-handed.

“All of those Republicans are coming my way,” Harris said.

The Republican Party of Georgia has expressed concerns that the large GOP field will make it easier for a Democrat to make the April 7 runoff.

The GAGOP was set to host a forum on Jan. 31 that would have concluded with a straw poll to determine the eight candidates invited to a Feb. 12 debate. But the forum was canceled when a winter storm was forecast, and now the Feb. 12 event will remain open to all GOP candidates.

The question now is how much impact does Trump’s endorsement have on voters in the district and whether that makes them less or more likely to consider others on the ballot.

Even before the president’s announcement, the candidates were working to set themselves apart from the field. Former Paulding County Commissioner Brian Stover is highlighting his ownership of a waste management company with 100 employees.

“There’s nobody in the race has the experience that I have in business,” he said.

Dalton City Councilman Nicky Lama, 25, would be the youngest members of Congress, if elected. In campaign materials, he describes himself as a “next-generation conservative” who is also “100% MAGA.”