Republican Clay Fuller claimed victory in Georgia’s special runoff election Tuesday, defeating Democrat Shawn Harris to fill the congressional seat left vacant by Marjorie Taylor Greene. Fuller credited President Trump’s endorsement as the deciding factor in securing the win that preserves the GOP’s narrow House majority.

Trump’s Endorsement Proves Decisive

Fuller, a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard and former White House fellow during Trump’s first term, said the president’s backing made all the difference. “He was the difference-maker,” Fuller told Fox News Tuesday night. “It was the honor of my lifetime to be able to get his endorsement.” Trump doubled down on his support Monday, urging Republicans, America First Patriots, and MAGA Warriors to vote for Fuller through social media posts.

The victory maintains the Republican Party’s razor-thin 217-214 majority in the House of Representatives. Fuller will serve out the remainder of Greene’s term through January, but faces an immediate challenge. He must begin campaigning again for the November midterm elections to hold the seat long-term. Harris indicated on social media that he plans to run again, writing that people in the district are ready for leadership that puts them first.

Strategic Calculation Behind Trump’s Pick

Trump’s endorsement of Fuller represented a calculated political move, according to Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University. “Part of President Trump’s strategy in endorsing Fuller was this recognition that the most red meat, MAGA-affiliated candidate in this particular instance, might be off-putting to voters in the middle,” Gillespie explained. The president aimed to avoid losing moderate voters in the strongly conservative district that encompasses northwest Georgia from the Atlanta suburbs to the Tennessee border.

What Comes Next

The March 10 special election failed to produce a winner when no candidate secured a majority, forcing Tuesday’s runoff. Harris performed marginally better than Fuller in that initial contest because a crowded Republican field split the vote. Fuller’s platform closely aligns with Trump’s agenda, particularly on curbing illegal immigration and implementing mass deportations. Washington observers watched the race carefully for signs of Trump’s influence with his base ahead of the midterms. Democratic Party leaders had hoped to flip the seat, with former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg holding a March town hall with Harris.