In her years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene made a name for herself as an outspoken Trump supporter and defender of “America First” ideology.
But after a public split from the president and the rest of her party, Greene resigned her position effective Jan. 5 of this year.
She leaves behind big shoes to fill for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, and since her resignation announcement in November, more than 20 people have joined the race to fill her seat.
A special election is being held on March 10. If a runoff is needed it will take place on April 7.
What do we know about the candidates?
Who is running for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat?
The race for Georgia’s 14th congressional district is a busy one, with more than 20 people filing with the Federal Election Commission to fill the seat. The majority of candidates are affiliated with the Republican Party, but there is a Democratic name and Independent and Libertarian candidates.
Many of the candidates have leaned into the MAGA movement, trying to show that they can be a strong Trump supporter where Greene failed at the end of her term. Others, however, have been distancing themselves from establishment Republicans and the current representatives in Washington going into the election.
Here are 22 people who have thrown their name in the ring for Congress.
• Shawn Harris (D) — Harris is a retired Brigadier General who spent 40 years in the military before becoming a cattle producer in Polk County, Georgia. Harris ran for the seat in 2024 and performed well for a Democrat in the district, but ultimately lost to Greene.
• Star Black (R) — Black has lived in the 14th district for 17 years, working as a business owner and caregiver. She is also a 28-year retired veteran of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Reagan Box (R) — Box attended Berry College, just outside Rome, Georgia, before going on to show and train horses across the country. She has worked with ranchers and in the agricultural sector.
• James Marty Brown (R) — Brown served as a firefighter-paramedic in North Georgia for 34 years while also working as a purchasing agent and inventory controller at Freightliner. He later bought and relocated Boats and Motors of Dalton, working as a small business owner.
• Jeff Criswell (R) — Criswell founded A.D. Starr in 1990, a baseball equipment brand, and it was later acquired by Dick’s Sporting Goods and provided the official ball of the Little League World Series. Criswell also served as a 10th grade teacher in Gwinnett County.
• Clay Fuller (R) — Fuller is the district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, serving as the top prosecutor for the region. Fuller was appointed as a White House Fellow by President Trump in 2018. Fuller was previously deployed in Qatar as part of the Air Force.
• Jared Craig (R) — Craig has operated a solo law practice for nearly 16 years in North Georgia, focusing on family law and criminal defense. He completed his law degree at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.
• Michael Corbin (R) — Corbin is a business owner in the technology sector and University of Georgia graduate. He also serves as a deacon on the Peachtree Corners Baptist Church mission committee. Corbin was previously endorsed by Gov. Brian Kemp during a race for Georgia’s 97th house district.
• Eric Cunningham (R) — Cunningham moved around frequently during a career with the railroad industry, but he’s spent his time in the suburbs of Cobb and Paulding Counties since 2005. He has served on the Board for the North West Family YMCA and as vice chair of a committee on opioid and heroin awareness.
• Rob “Rush” Ruszkowski (I) — Ruszkowski is running as an independent candidate and as part of the Gaia Knights Movement. Ruszkowski founded Hi-Tech Paging Inc. in 1991 and grew the business in Gwinnett County before selling the company. He worked on the political campaign for Dennis Kucinich during his 2004 presidential campaign.
• Ben Cope (R) — Cope is the founder and CEO of Internet Genius Consulting, a web design and online marketing agency. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Reflections of Trinity and was named chairman for the past three years. Cope and his wife, Angel, were licensed foster care parents for five years.
• Jim Tully (R) — Tully joined conservative politics in 2006, and has been involved in the movement since. He worked in the healthcare industry for many years, and he was one of the first candidates to announce he was running for Greene’s seat.
• Jenna Turnipseed (R) — Turnipseed served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and earning the title of Jumpmaster. She now runs Chickamauga Creek Farms and serves as a high school JROTC instructor.
• Beau Brown (R) — Brown has lived in North Georgia his entire life, and worked his first job pouring concrete for his father’s company. He currently works in risk management. He said in a statement on his campaign website that it’s his time to “carry the torch” from Greene.
• Colton Moore (R) — Moore served as a state senator before resigning to run for the 14th seat. He works as an auctioneer and dump truck driver. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump and promoted the claim that the 2020 election had been stolen, against Gov. Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
• Nicky Lama (R) — Lama resigned from his position as a city councilmember in Dalton, Georgia to run for the congressional seat. He was elected to the council in 2023 and was re-elected last November. Prior to that, Lama worked in his family’s small businesses in Dalton.
• Megahn Strickland (R) — Strickland says she would be a “representative who is grounded in faith, work, and community.” Information about her background was not present on her campaign sites.
• Christian Hurd (R) — Hurd served in Marine Corps intelligence and is a tenth-generation Georgian. He aligned himself with “President Trump’s America First Agenda,” referring to it as a “no-fail mission.”
• Brian Stover (R) — Stover started his first business out of his pickup truck in Paulding County, and has been a lifelong resident. He was previously awarded the Paulding County Citizen of the Year, and served on the Paulding County Board of Commissioners.
• Jim Davis — Davis is a retired businessman and political writer from Rome, and has worked on both Democratic and Republican political campaigns. He has authored multiple book on American politics and governance, and he called the special election a “fresh start” for the district.
• Andrew Underwood (L) — Underwood is running as a Libertarian and said he has “no faith in either of the two parties” to help with rising costs. He is a Georgia native.
• Trey Kelly (R) — served in the Georgia State House as the Majority Caucus Whip. He grew up in Cedartown, and his parents are both educators. He was first elected to the House in 2012.
The district Greene served sits in the northwestern corner of Georgia, stretching from just northwest of Atlanta to the southern border of Tennessee and the eastern border of Alabama.
The district has a population of about 765,000 people, according to 2020 census data, and a median household income of $78,969. Only 28.5% of the district has a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the district has a 61% employment rate.
The district is predominantly white, but it also has a large Hispanic community, including more than 90,000 residents.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.…Read more by Irene Wright