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Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign: What happens next in Georgia's 14th district? Special election, candidates, and more
Marjorie Taylor Greene represents the 14th Congressional district of Georgia in the House and the Republican has now announced plans to resign on Jan 5, 2026.
Marjorie Taylor Greene on November 21 announced her plans to resign from the US Congress. The Republican represents the 14th Congressional district of Georgia in the House and has now said her last working day will be on January 5, 2026.
This comes amid a public fallout with President Donald Trump, which saw the latter withdraw the endorsement of Greene. Trump also called his one-time staunch MAGA ally a ‘traitor’ and a ‘wacky’ ‘ranting lunatic’.
Also Read | Why is MTG resigning? Key points from Marjorie Taylor Greene's video and letter amid Trump fallout
Greene's announcement comes ahead of the US midterm elections in 2026, and Trump ally Laura Loomer has alleged that the Georgia lawmaker is doing this ‘deliberately’. “So shes deliberately trying to make it so that Republicans are down a vote to screw Trump over ahead of 2026,” Loomer said on X.
However, Greene's seat will hardly remain empty if she resigns. Here's all you need to know about how the towering MAGA figure's resignation could impact the Georgia elections.
MTG resignation and Georgia elections
If Greene goes through with her resignation, there will be a special election to fill the seat. The Constitution addresses House vacancies, saying “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.”
"Typically, state governors—"the Executive Authority"—are authorized to issue orders for special elections to fill House vacancies. In contrast with the Senate, there is no constitutional provision for the appointment of interim Representatives," it adds, as per the US Congress.
The writ of election is issued by the state Governor, and the date is set by the same individual. In this case, it'll be Republican Brian P. Kemp. The election will be held for Greene's seat only, which is the 14th Congressional District of Georgia. However, since next year is the midterm elections, with polling on November 3, the primaries will be held before that. The primaries, where the Republican candidate to contest will be chosen, are on May 19, as per Ballotpedia. The primary runoff is on June 16, 2026.
Earlier, the candidates in the fray included Greene, but now that she's announced her plans to resign, the list is one person short.
Current people with their hats in the ring include Clarence Blalock, the Democrat candidate, Star Black, Elvis Casely, and Jeff Criswell, the Republican candidates, and Rob Ruszkowski, who's contesting as an Independent, Ballotpedia reported.
Notably, Trump had called for Greene's defeat in the primaries themselves, but has thus far not endorsed any candidate. Now with the MAGA giant stepping down, this list could look different by the time a special election is announced.
