Chattooga County voters delivered decisive Republican victories in both of Tuesday’s special election runoff races, with Clay Fuller winning the U.S. House District 14 contest and Lanny Thomas capturing the Georgia State Senate District 53 seat. Official Georgia results show Fuller won Chattooga County with 2,546 votes, or 69.81 percent, compared to 1,101 votes, or 30.19 percent, for Democrat Shawn Harris. In the Senate race, Thomas defeated John Bentley “Jack” Zibluk with 2,686 votes, or 74.38 percent, to 925 votes, or 25.62 percent.
Republican Clay Fuller has been declared the winner in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District special runoff election, securing the seat after a closely watched race across Northwest Georgia.
According to the latest returns, Fuller finished with just over 52 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Shawn Harris, who received just under 48 percent.
The race drew significant attention throughout the district, with early results showing a tight contest before Fuller pulled ahead as more votes were counted.
Fuller, who currently serves as a district attorney, carried strong support in counties like Chattooga, helping boost his overall margin in the district-wide vote.
The runoff was required after no candidate received a majority in the initial March election, setting up the head-to-head matchup between Fuller and Harris.
With the victory, Fuller will now move on to represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, a region that includes much of Northwest Georgia.
Election officials say results will remain unofficial until certified, but Fuller’s lead is expected to hold.
Fuller Leads 14th District, Thomas Ahead In State Senate Race As Returns Continue
WZQZ News — Updated election returns from Tuesday night show Republican Clay Fuller now leading Democrat Shawn Harris in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District special runoff, while Republican Lanny Thomas continues to hold a strong lead over Democrat John Bentley “Jack” Zibluk in the State Senate District 53 race.
In the 14th Congressional District contest, the latest numbers show Fuller with 26,043 votes, or 52.02 percent, compared to Harris with 24,016 votes, or 47.98 percent.
In the State Senate District 53 runoff, Thomas is ahead with 6,555 votes, or 64.86 percent, while Zibluk has received 3,552 votes, or 35.14 percent.
While the state results page shows all localities listed in the summary, not all precincts are necessarily fully reported yet, meaning vote totals could still change as additional returns are processed.
Election officials will continue updating results throughout the evening.
Earlier this evening:
Election returns are coming in tonight across Georgia’s 14th Congressional District and State Senate District 53, and the early numbers are showing a split between Chattooga County and the district as a whole. In the 14th District congressional runoff, Republican Clay Fuller is leading in Chattooga County, while Democrat Shawn Harris is holding a narrow district-wide advantage in the latest unofficial results.
According to the numbers shown in the latest update, Harris has 51.48 percent of the vote district-wide with 16,806 votes, compared to Fuller’s 48.52 percent and 15,840 votes. In Chattooga County, however, local returns show Fuller with a substantial lead over Harris. The latest district-wide tally displayed 7 of 10 localities reporting in the congressional race.
In the State Senate District 53 runoff, Republican Lanny Thomas is leading Democrat John Bentley “Jack” Zibluk in the latest unofficial returns. The posted totals show Thomas with 61.09 percent, or 4,765 votes, compared to Zibluk’s 38.91 percent, or 3,035 votes. The latest update showed 4 of 5 localities reporting in that race.
Both contests are being closely watched in Northwest Georgia, with vote totals expected to continue shifting as additional precincts report.
These results remain unofficial until certified by election officials.
Former Trion Mayor Lanny Thomas, a Republican, and John Bentley “Jack” Zibluk, a Democrat, are headed to an April 7 runoff election in the race for Georgia State Senate District 53 after no candidate won a majority in Tuesday’s special election.
Unofficial and incomplete results from Tuesday’s March 10, 2026 special election show 3,772 ballots cast in Chattooga County, representing 24.77% turnout among the county’s 15,226 registered voters.
The results released Tuesday night reflect Chattooga County votes only.
In the race for U.S. House of Representatives, District 14, Clay Fuller (Republican) received the most votes in Chattooga County with 1,705 votes (46.43%). Shawn Harris (Democrat) finished second locally with 912 votes (24.84%), followed by Colton Moore (Republican) with 727 votes (19.80%).
The 14th Congressional District covers multiple counties across Northwest Georgia, meaning the final outcome will be determined by votes from the entire district.
In the race for Georgia State Senate District 53, Lanny Thomas (Republican) led the vote in Chattooga County with 1,796 votes (48.27%), followed by Blake Elsberry (Republican) with 910 votes (24.46%), John Bentley “Jack” Zibluk (Democrat) with 696 votes (18.70%), and Denise Pierce Burns (Republican) with 319 votes (8.57%).
The 53rd State Senate District includes voters in Chattooga, Walker, Dade, Catoosa and Floyd counties, meaning the final election results will depend on totals from all counties in the district.
Election officials reported 1,869 votes cast on Election Day, 1,837 during advance voting, and 66 absentee ballots by mail.
Final certified results will be released after all counties complete their tabulations.
