ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — One of the 17 Republicans seeking Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old seat in Congress is withdrawing from the race and is instead going to run for state representative.

On Sunday, Christian Hurd said he is endorsing Clay Fuller in the congressional race and will now run for Georgia House District 2, currently represented by state Rep. Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga. Tarvin has represented the northwest Georgia district since 2014, and currently chairs the House budget and fiscal affairs oversight committee.

A January three-day qualifying period for the race brought 22 challengers for the 14th congressional district: 17 Republicans, three Democrats, one Libertarian, and one independent.

Hurd’s withdrawal means that 16 Republicans are now hoping to make an all-but-certain runoff in the heavily GOP district.

LIST: Here are the challengers for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old seat

Gov. Brian Kemp set a March 10, 2026, special election date. The race’s crowded field will likely result in a runoff on April 8, 2026.

Georgia’s nationally watched 2026 primary is May 19, 2026, meaning whoever wins the upcoming special election — and likely runoff — may choose to run again in the primaries and, if victorious, run in November’s general election.

Greene said on Nov. 21, 2025, that she was resigning over her disillusionment with the nation’s current political climate, stemming from a recent political split with President Donald Trump.

Georgia’s 14th congressional district stretches from the Chattanooga, Tennessee, metropolitan area in an east-south arc toward metro Atlanta’s outlying suburbs.

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