Georgia Republicans run to replace Greene and wrestle with her legacy

As Republicans scramble to fill the House seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene, the race has become as much about her exit as about who comes next, and how closely candidates should align themselves with both Greene and President Donald Trump.

One of the earliest entrants was Jim Tully, a former Greene staffer who moved quickly after her November resignation. Introducing himself on a local conservative radio show in January, Tully initially avoided mentioning his ties to Greene until the host pressed him. When he did address her departure, he framed it as a vacuum that demanded immediate action.

Greene’s resignation, Tully said, left “a glaring loss in the district.” He explained that he announced his campaign almost immediately to give voters a sense of direction.

“I couldn’t leave families wondering what was next,” he said. “I had to give them some hope.”

Other candidates have been less cautious. James Marty Brown, a former firefighter and paramedic, described Greene as a divisive force whose style often distracted from larger priorities.

“She’s the cat chasing that little dangling feather, a little shiny object, instead of sitting back and looking to see what the big picture of what’s going on is,” Brown told CNN.

That tension between respecting Greene’s prominence and distancing from her controversies runs through the crowded Republican field. CNN reviewed public comments or spoke with 12 of the 16 GOP candidates competing in the March 10 primary, which is likely to lead to an April runoff. A clear pattern has emerged: candidates with deeper roots in local Republican politics tend to strike a careful balance, offering deference to both Trump and Greene, while political newcomers appear more willing to openly criticize her.

Nearly all of the candidates are vying to present themselves as Trump’s strongest ally in the district. More than half said voters regularly bring up Greene, often expressing confusion or frustration over her decision to resign midway through her third term.

Trump himself entered the race this week by endorsing Clay Fuller, who resigned as a local district attorney to run in the special election. Fuller has said he would back the president even in moments of disagreement.

Greene, however, has made clear she plans to stay out of the succession fight, writing on X in November that she would not endorse a replacement.

For candidates like Tully, the challenge is threading the needle between continuity and change. As a senior district representative for Greene, he described himself as her “eyes and ears” on the ground, conveying local concerns back to Washington. Yet he also acknowledged the emotional whiplash many voters felt after her resignation.

“When we found ourselves so enamored with Congresswoman Greene at points, and all of the sudden, here we are just disillusioned at some points, sometimes very mad, folks needed to know that there was somebody there that cared enough to say, ‘Wait a minute, I’m not gonna let that happen,’” Tully said.

Others argue that a quieter style is exactly what the district needs. Brian Stover, a former county commissioner and businessman, told Fox News Digital that while he respects Greene’s work, he would take a different approach.

“I respect everything she’s done,” Stover said. “She’s worked for the district, but I have a different tactic. I go in, and I like to negotiate through just sitting down, having good, great conversations and … not being so loud, like she is.”

Stover added that disagreements with Trump should be handled privately.

“You don’t get stuff from just going in and trying to be the bull in the china shop,” he said. “I can sit down with President Trump, and I guarantee you we can work things out for the best of my district.”

Former state Sen. Colton Moore, who also resigned his seat to run, cast Greene’s departure as an opportunity to reset. In a statement to CNN, he said it “opens the door for a new chapter focused on unity behind Trump.”

“I think the Republican Party absolutely has problems, especially when it comes to weak leadership and broken promises,” Moore said. “Donald Trump remains the most important political figure in our movement and the clear leader of the America First base. Congresswoman Greene raised important concerns to hold people accountable, and I appreciate her fighting for the district.”

Moore, who has his own record of clashes with Republican leadership, including being expelled from the state senate GOP caucus and later arrested after trying to force his way onto the House floor, emphasized that he is charting his own course.

He said he is “not running to be anyone’s clone.”