The qualifying period for the 14th Congressional District special election in Georgia is set to end at 1 p.m. Wednesday. After that, no more candidates will be able to register for the March 10 election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress.
Elected officials at the state, county or municipal level will have to resign once qualified to run, according to Georgia’s Constitution.
“If there is more than a 30-day gap in their term, their office will be declared vacant upon qualifying for the new office they are seeking,” said Robert Sinners, spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
The 30-day gap refers to how much of an overlap there is between the term of the office the candidate now holds and the office they are running for.
Three candidates who have announced their intention to run fall into that category. A fourth, Jim Tully, was the chair of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District GOP. He resigned shortly before announcing his campaign.
Nicky Lama of Dalton was a City Council member. He resigned Jan. 7 prior to the qualifying period beginning Jan. 12, according to a press release from the city. Lama was first elected to the council in 2023 after a previous council resigned. He was reelected this past November when running unopposed, according to the release.
A special election to fill Lama’s vacated seat has been set for March 10 to coincide with the congressional special election. The qualifying period opens at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Lama resigned in advance in order to give the City Council enough time to set a special election, according to the press release.
Clay Fuller of Lookout Mountain was the district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. He vacated his elected office after paying the qualifying fee Monday, Sinners said. He was appointed district attorney in 2023 after the former district attorney, Chris Arnt, was made a judge in the same circuit. Fuller won a full term as DA in the 2024 general election.
According to Georgia law, the chief assistant district attorney will perform the duties of the district attorney until a new one is appointed by the governor. The Lookout Mountain Circuit, which includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties, has two chief assistant district attorneys, Deanna Reisman and Lynsay Chapman.
Appointed district attorneys fill the position until voters pick the next DA in a special election during the next general election. In this case, that would be in November, according to Georgia laws. District attorneys serve in four-year terms.
Colton Moore of Trenton was the elected state senator for District 53. He vacated his office when he qualified for the District 14 race Monday morning, Sinners said. District 53 includes the counties of Dade, Walker, Chattooga and parts of Floyd.
A special election for District 53 will be set by no more than 10 days after Moore’s resignation Monday. The election will take place between 30 and 60 days after the date for the special election is set. Several candidates have already announced their intent to run for Moore’s seat.
Contact Northwest Georgia reporter Ignacio Perez at iperez@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6710.