Can Iran war politics move voters in Georgia’s Trumpiest district?

“There are Republicans who understand it is putting America first by ridding the world and America of the number one sponsor of terrorism in the world,” said Mickey Tuck, a longtime conservative activist in Rome. “Then there are Republicans that don’t support the war and don’t think it puts America first.”

The stakes extend far beyond northwest Georgia, where Fuller remains heavily favored to win the April 7 runoff.

Trump’s handling of the conflict could be simply sharpening the same schisms that have made the district a GOP stronghold. But both parties are watching closely for clues about a potential reshaping of the political terrain ahead of Georgia’s pivotal midterms, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff faces reelection and an open governor’s office is up for grabs.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Both candidates bring military credentials to the contest, but they are using them to make sharply different arguments about the conflict.

Fuller, a Trump-backed Air Force veteran and former district attorney, argues the ongoing air assault is necessary to neutralize a longstanding nuclear threat in Iran and allow the U.S. to refocus on China.

Harris, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, has cast the attacks as a “war of choice” and warned against another prolonged Middle East conflict.

“The president of the United States needs to come up and talk directly to the American people and tell us, how did we get into this war?” Harris said in a “Politically Georgia” interview that aired Tuesday.

“And since we’re in this war, why are we in it? How does it affect our national interests? And ultimately, what is our exit strategy?”

War footing

National polling indicates plenty of public skepticism about the war.

A Quinnipiac University survey last week found 54% of voters oppose the military action, while 39% support it. The same poll found 79% of Republicans think the Iran war will make the world safer, compared with just 2% of Democrats.

And as Trump weighs whether to escalate further, a Reuters-Ipsos survey found fewer than one in 10 Americans support sending ground troops.

Fuller has wholeheartedly backed the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, saying they are essential to national security. It’s one of a broad range of areas where he has shown no daylight with Trump, who endorsed him in February.

“Our country is safer because of what President Trump has done regarding Iran,” Fuller said in a March 22 Atlanta Press Club debate, calling Iran’s regime “a death cult that could not be negotiated with.”

“And that means we can pivot back to making sure that my 15-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son aren’t going to head into a war in the Pacific,” he said. “Because the number one threat is the Communist Party of China.”

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

The contrast gives the race an unusual foreign-policy angle in a district where economic concerns and partisan identity usually swamp nearly everything else.

Greene defeated Harris in 2024 by roughly 30 percentage points, while Trump carried the district by an even larger margin, winning nearly 68% of the vote — the biggest margin in the state.

But Greene’s abrupt resignation after her feud with Trump transformed the contest into an unlikely proving ground for how a moderate Democrat can compete in a MAGA bastion.

While Fuller remains the clear favorite, Harris is trying to use the conflict to appeal to independents and Republicans wary of another prolonged Middle East war.

“Voters are worried about national security. But at the same time, they are actually worried about the cost of living. And the reality of it is when they talk to me and say, ‘Hey, Shawn, should we be in this war?”

Local Republicans say the conflict won’t scramble the fundamentals of the district, which stretches from Atlanta’s western suburbs to Tennessee’s border, especially given Trump’s early endorsement of Fuller.

“There are real conversations among voters about the situation with Iran, but I don’t see it as the main driver in this runoff,” said Paulding County GOP Chair Ricky Hess. “This is still largely a Republican-versus-Democrat contest, and that puts Fuller in a strong position.”

Ethan Pender, a Rome educator, said many voters broadly agree that something must be done about Iran’s regime, though they remain wary of another quagmire like Iraq.

“People would like to know that there are clear, time-measurable objectives — and have someone explain exactly how achieving those objectives align with and aid American interests,” he said.

Still, he said he has seen little evidence that the conflict is scrambling the race or splintering the GOP coalition in any meaningful way.

“I haven’t heard anyone squeamish about supporting Clay based on this issue.”

That view is echoed by Tuck, who said the internal GOP split over the war won’t trigger any large-scale defection to Harris.

But, he added, “it will affect the votes of independent voters that usually vote Republican. Some of them will probably vote for Harris because of the war.”

Boots on the ground?

That may be Harris’ narrow opening. He finished first in the March 10 all-party special election with roughly 37% of the vote, setting a new high-water mark for Democrats in the district. But he benefited from a GOP field that splintered among roughly a dozen candidates.

Now his campaign is trying to stitch together a tenuous coalition of Democrats, independents, moderates and disaffected Republicans uneasy with Trump’s overall agenda, mixed in with the prospect of another prolonged Middle East conflict.

For some Harris supporters, the deeper worry is what comes next if the conflict escalates.

Carmen Shuler, who helped organize a “No Kings” rally in Dalton over the weekend, said many Democrats are focused on both the short-term impact and the longer-term concerns of a broader military commitment.

“The prospect of boots on the ground in Iran is disturbing,” Shuler said. “So are flag-draped coffins coming home instead of soldiers.”

That, Harris argues, raises the question of whether Trump’s support begins to erode if the conflict expands beyond airstrikes.

“And when we put boots on the ground,” Harris said, “that is truly a forever war.”

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT