Haunted by Greene’s rise, Georgia Republicans intervene early in House races
When Marjorie Taylor Greene was elected in 2020, she vowed to be a “nightmare” for Democrats. She ended up becoming a headache for Republicans, too.
Her rise to Congress wasn’t inevitable. Senior Georgia Republican leaders largely stayed on the sidelines as her provocative campaign gained traction, allowing a firebrand outsider to capture a safe GOP seat without much internal resistance.
This time, they’re not taking that risk. In several open U.S. House races across Georgia, senior Republican officials are moving early to shape the fields — steering donors, activists and endorsements toward candidates they view as more disciplined and electable.
Party leaders have lined up behind state Rep. Houston Gaines in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and businessman Jim Kingston — son of former Rep. Jack Kingston — in the campaign for U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s seat.
And in the Tuesday special election to succeed Greene, many are echoing President Donald Trump’s endorsement of former prosecutor Clay Fuller.
Whether the strategy works is another question.
Trump’s blessing has not cleared the field for Fuller, who faces more than a dozen GOP rivals, including former state Sen. Colton Moore, who has a loyal grassroots following and a Greene-like approach to politics. Gaines and Kingston still face opposition.
And the effort to shape the field is far from uniform across the state.
Influential Republicans seem to be taking a more hands-off approach in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, which has attracted several more traditional GOP candidates.
Still, the early consolidation has given Gaines and Kingston a head start — and signaled that party leaders are determined to avoid another surprise nominee who could complicate their 2026 plans.
Gaines has racked up endorsements and more than $1.4 million in campaign cash since entering the contest last year. He hopes the institutional support will give him a lasting edge over Atlanta film executive Ryan Millsap, whose late entry came with a pledge to spend as much as $4 million on his bid.
“I’m running because we need someone with a titanium backbone who doesn’t care about climbing the political ladder,” Millsap said.
The early rallying around Kingston has sidelined Kandiss Taylor, an activist whose 2022 “Jesus, guns and babies” gubernatorial campaign amplified conspiracy theories that state Republican leaders were secret Communists, Democrats were satanic pedophiles, and Trump won the 2020 election.
“Maybe it’s because they know that I’m going to win,” Taylor said shortly before filing her paperwork. “President Trump surely knows that I’m a fighter, and I’m with him.”
‘They know me’
The intervention marks a sharp break from 2020, when top Republicans were largely silent as Greene’s history of hateful and xenophobic comments surfaced during her campaign.
By the end of that race, it was senior Republicans who were seeking out Greene’s blessing. At an October 2020 event for then-U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Greene rolled up to an exurban park pavilion in a flag-festooned Hummer, blasting the media as “fake news” before abruptly wrapping up the event.
Now party leaders say they’ve learned their lesson. Kingston, the son of former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, said he has no problem with the early consolidation. Although his coastal district was drawn for a Republican to win, Kingston said the party can’t afford to take chances in a fast-changing state.
“Georgia’s getting more and more competitive. We need to put forward our strongest nominees,” Kingston said. “And I believe that I have the best-funded campaign, the best-organized campaign and the best grassroots support to go the distance.”
The race for Loudermilk’s northwest Georgia district is more muddled after U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, a Trump appointee who might have raced to the top of the field with a presidential endorsement, decided against a bid.
Key insiders are instead lining up behind three main hopefuls: Rob Adkerson, a former top aide to Loudermilk; Dr. John Cowan, a neurosurgeon who was runner-up to Greene in 2020; and Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore.
“We have relationships. They know me. We worked together for last 12 years,” Adkerson said of the local figures who have already backed him. “They know that I know how important the relationship is between local officials and Washington.”
But in that race, running as an outsider could also prove a strong draw. Cowan is taking cues from his 2020 campaign, when he was branded the establishment favorite. Now he’s calling himself a “political outsider.”
“One of the problems in politics is that we have a ‘powers that be,’” Cowan said. “I’m going to come and represent the values of the citizens of Georgia’s 11th, and show every day that career politicians aren’t what we need.”
The first major test of the Republican strategy comes in Tuesday’s messy, all-party race to fill Greene’s unexpired term that will test Trump’s influence.
A few weeks ago, the president stood onstage with Fuller at a Rome steel mill, where he declared the former prosecutor a “MAGA warrior” who was all-in for his agenda. Other local leaders have echoed his endorsement.
But many of Fuller’s 16 or so GOP rivals aren’t backing down.
Jim Tully, a former Greene deputy and longtime local activist, has fielded plenty of questions about his decision to stay in the race. He said Republican insiders are underestimating the power of grassroots supporters.
“It is all about faith, family and foundation in northwest Georgia. We take care of one another,” he said. “Donald Trump does what Donald Trump does on a national and world scale. But in northwest Georgia, it’s about neighbors.”
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
