Northwest Georgia’s new representative in Washington is settling into his role after officially being sworn into Congress.
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.
Today is Election Day in Chattooga County as voters head to the polls for a Special Election runoff to fill unexpired terms in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Georgia State Senate.
Voters in Chattooga County will be asked to return to the polls on April 7, 2026 to vote in two runoff elections. The runoffs were a result of no candidate getting more than 50% of the vote in the Special Election for the Georgia 53rd Senate District and the 14th U.S. Congressional District races.
Voters in Northwest Georgia are set for a high-stakes runoff election on April 7, as Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris compete to fill the seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 14th Congressional District.
Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris will face each other in an April 7 runoff election after no candidate received a majority in Tuesday’s special election to fill the remaining months of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat.
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.
Today is the final day of early voting in the upcoming Special Election. Voters in Chattooga County will be voting for a candidate to fill the seat vacated by Colton Moore in the Georgia Senate. Also, voters will be casting their ballot in the 14th District U.S. Congressional Race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the U.S. House of Representatives. All early voting in Chattooga County takes place at the Chattooga County Registrars Office, located at 10017 Commerce Street in Summerville. Voting hours today are from 8:30 AM until 5 PM. Bring a picture ID when you come to vote. Next Tuesday, Election Day, all voting will take place in local precincts across the county. Voting on Tuesday will be from 7 AM – 7 PM. No voting will take place at the Registrars Office on Election Day.
President Donald Trump made a whirlwind visit to Rome on Thursday, stopping at The Varsity before ending the day with a rally at Coosa Steel where he praised his tariff policies to a loud, energized crowd.

















