Republican Clay Fuller credits Trump's endorsement after Georgia race heads to April runoff

ROME, GEORGIA: The race to become northwest Georgia’s next congressman isn’t settled yet, but Republican Clay Fuller is already tipping his hat to President Donald Trump.

After advancing to an April runoff in Tuesday’s crowded election, Fuller thanked Trump for backing his campaign and told supporters that the President’s endorsement played a major role in the night’s outcome.

Speaking to a crowd at his election night gathering in Rome, Fuller pointed to the energy in the room.

“For those of you that were questioning how important President Donald J Trump is to this country, to Georgia 14 and the state of Georgia — you look at that screen behind me, and you see what this man means to these people here,” Fuller said at his election night party in Rome.

Despite Trump’s backing, the Republican field was so crowded that no candidate managed to cross the critical 50 per cent threshold required to win outright, forcing the contest into a runoff scheduled for April 7.

But Fuller wasn’t exactly hanging his head about it. Asked by reporters why Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to avoid a runoff, Fuller shrugged off the suggestion of a setback.

“I would describe this as an outright win," he declared.

A crowded race sends Georgia to a runoff

The special election featured a packed lineup of candidates battling to represent northwest Georgia in Congress. When the ballots were tallied Tuesday night, Democrat Shawn Harris emerged as the top vote-getter with about 37 per cent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

Harris is a farmer and retired brigadier general with the US Army who boasts 40 years of military experience. He campaigned as a moderate Democrat with a heavy focus on economic concerns and veterans’ issues.

Speaking to supporters outside his Rome campaign headquarters, Harris said he was committed to tackling everyday financial pressures.

“We’re going to stay laser focused on kitchen table issues, because right now, gas prices are out the roof. Costs are crazy. You can’t buy milk in Publix. You can’t even pay your bills,” Harris said to supporters.

Harris told them his message was cutting across party lines. “As long as we stay focused on that, guess what? Democrats, independents and yes, Republicans, are going to continue to vote for me,” he said.

Notably, Harris ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2024 and captured just over a third of the vote in that contest.

Trump’s backing looms large

Fuller, meanwhile, is well known in the district long before Trump entered the picture.

He previously served as district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit and holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. His supporters gathered Tuesday night in an event space attached to an outdoor goods store not far from Harris’ campaign event in Rome.

Fuller told the crowd that Trump had “entrusted our campaign to carry forward the MAGA movement into the next decade.”

The President even traveled to the district late last month to campaign for Fuller and several other endorsed candidates.

Political observers say the endorsement likely proved decisive in such a crowded Republican field.

Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University, said the Trump factor was hard to miss. “I think it made all the difference,” he said. “I mean, Fuller was pretty well known already in the district, he has run before and he’s a pretty well-known commodity, but I think the Trump endorsement just did what it did for Brian Kemp (in 2018).”

Fuller has run in the district before. In 2020, he secured about 7% of the vote in another crowded race, losing to then-candidate Greene. But with Trump’s endorsement now behind him, Fuller told reporters he believes Republicans will rally around his candidacy heading into the runoff.

“I think you see with the results tonight that the voters support what President Trump is doing in endorsing our campaign,” he said. “And I think the Republican Party is going to unite around us, because they know that the Democrat is too dangerous.”

Harris, however, appeared unfazed by Trump’s involvement in the race. “President Trump came here two weeks ago, and guess what? His candidate came in second place,” he said. “And I’m a firm believer that when we go head to head on April 7, you’re going to be talking to me again because I’m going to win it.”