Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat in Congress is officially vacant
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — For the first time since 2021, Marjorie Taylor Greene will no longer be in Congress.
Greene’s 14th congressional district seat will become vacant on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 3, she officially turned in her resignation letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the people of Georgia’s 14th congressional district,” Greene wrote in the letter.
Kemp now has 10 days to set the date for a special election in Georgia’s 14th congressional district.
The election will decide who will fill the rest of Greene’s 2026 term.
Georgia’s nationally watched midterms in the 2026 primary are May 19, 2026, meaning whoever wins the upcoming special election — and likely a runoff — may choose to run again in the primaries and, if victorious, run in November’s general election.
According to Article I, 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.
On Nov. 21, 2025, Greene, who was elected to represent northwest Georgia in 2020 and has been 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.
Members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation reacted to Greene’s departure, and stunning about-face with Trump in recent weeks.
“Certainly this is a disappointment that it ends this way,” said Georgia Congressman and Senate candidate Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican. “Marjorie has been a good friend and I’ve appreciated working with Marjorie on a number of different issues. But at the same time we have to continue to move on and we will as a delegation.
“I’m sorry that she is leaving because her voice is needed in the halls of Congress where people in that party are afraid to speak up,” said Georgia Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson. “She was unafraid, she spoke up, and I give her credit for that.”
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 takes effect Jan. 5, 2026.
- 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 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.
The district’s major population centers are Dalton (Whitfield County), Rome (Floyd County), Cartersville (Bartow 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.
While mostly white, the district has notable Hispanic populations concentrated around Dalton with its carpet-industry workforce. Its economy is centered around manufacturing (particularly in Dalton’s carpet and rug industry), agriculture and small business.
The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district solidly Republican, as does Ballotpedia. Historically Republican, the district was represented by Tom Graves before his retirement in 2020.
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