What is the timeline and key dates for the GA-14 special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene?

1. Greene’s exit and the official vacancy date

Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she will step down from Congress, with her resignation taking effect Jan. 5, 2026, creating an official vacancy in Georgia’s 14th District as of that date ^{[1] [5]}. Multiple local outlets reported and repeated that effective date in their accounts of the resignation and what it means for representation of the district in the remainder of the 119th Congress ^{[2] [6]}.

2. The governor’s 10-day duty to call a special election

Under Georgia law the governor must issue a writ calling a special election within 10 days of a U.S. House vacancy, meaning the formal calendar-setting begins immediately after the Jan. 5 vacancy ^{[2] [3]}. That legal requirement is the operative hinge that gives the governor discretion only over specific timing and logistics once the vacancy is official ^[2].

3. Likely timeline: March special, April runoff, May primaries

State and local reporting identify March as the most probable month for the special general election, with outlets repeatedly citing March dates and a potential runoff scheduled for mid-April if no candidate wins a majority ^{[2] [7] [3]}. The Georgia Secretary of State’s broader calendar lists March 17, 2026, as a potential special-election date and April 14, 2026, as a potential runoff date, though that listing is not uniquely tied to District 14 in the notice cited ^[3]. Separately, Georgia’s statewide primary for the 2026 midterms is slated for May 19, 2026, a date the governor could choose to let decide partisan nominees instead of holding an earlier special election ^{[4] [3]}.

4. What the winner serves and overlap with the 2026 midterms

The victor of the special election will serve the remainder of the 119th Congress, a term that ends Jan. 3, 2027, meaning the special-winner’s service would be a roughly one-year stint before the next full term begins ^[1]. Because the resignation and special-election timetable fall inside the 2026 election cycle, candidates are simultaneously preparing for the special election to fill the vacancy and the regular midterm contests later in the year, complicating campaign strategy ^{[8] [4]}.

5. Who’s running now and the political dynamics shaping dates

A crowded field of Republicans and a few Democrats have already filed FEC paperwork or publicly signaled bids for the seat, with local reporting listing names and early campaign activity that anticipates an early special contest ^{[8] [9] [6]}. Strategic considerations are explicit in the coverage: some conservatives want a quick special election to secure a successor, while others — and national actors like former President Trump — may prefer timing that advantages their preferred candidates; Greene herself pledged neutrality and said she will not endorse in the contest, a move observers interpret as opening room for competing GOP backers ^{[10] [9]}.

6. Uncertainties and the governor’s leverage

The critical uncertainty is the governor’s scheduling choice within that 10-day window: he must call the special election but has room to set the date, either accelerating to March (and a possible April runoff) as many local outlets expect or allowing the vacancy to remain until the May 19 primary, which would fold the contest into the regular primary schedule and alter who can appear on which ballot ^{[2] [4]}. Reporting establishes the legal framework and likely dates but does not include a formal proclamation from the governor setting the final timetable as of the sources cited ^{[2] [3]}.