ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Gov. Brian Kemp has set a special election for Tuesday, March 10, 2026, to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th congressional district.

On Nov. 21, 2025, Greene — who was elected to the northwest Georgia district in 2020 and overwhelmingly re-elected since — said she was resigning over her disillusionment with the nation’s current political climate, stemming from a recent political split with President Donald Trump.

The election will decide who will fill the rest of Greene’s 2026 term.

About an hour after Kemp’s announcement, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office announced the qualifying dates:

• Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The qualifying fee has been set at $5,220.00.

A special runoff election, if needed, has been set for April 7, 2026.

Georgia’s nationally watched midterms in the 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.

According to Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, no temporary appointments to the seat are allowed. All House vacancies must be filled by an election, regardless of when the representative resigns.

Here’s how a special election for a vacant congressional seat works in Georgia:

• Georgia law requires the governor to issue a writ calling a special election for a U.S. House vacancy within 10 days of the vacancy. Greene’s resignation took effect Jan. 5.
• The special election date must be at least 30 days after the writ is issued. If no candidate receives a 50% majority, a runoff between the top two is held 28 days after the special election.
• County superintendents and the Georgia Secretary of State handle the special election.
• Candidate qualifying windows for special elections are set by the Georgia Secretary of State and the governor. For many special contests, qualifying is short and typically closes several weeks before the election to allow ballot printing and absentee processing.

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

The district’s major population centers are Dalton (Whitfield County), Rome (Floyd County), Cartersville (Bartow County area near Paulding County) and portions of Paulding County (Dallas).

The district includes most, if not all, of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, Whitfield, and part of Pickens counties.

MORE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE COVERAGE

While mostly white, the district has notable Hispanic populations concentrated around Dalton with its carpet-industry workforce. Its economy is centering around manufacturing (particularly in Dalton’s carpet/rug industry); agriculture, and small business.

The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district solidly Republican, as does Ballotpedia. Historically GOP, it was represented by Tom Graves before his retirement in 2020.

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