Dalton, Ga. (AP) – President Donald Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green is said to be a traitor. But he’s still “mama bear” to Jackie Harling, who chairs the local Republican Party in the northwest corner of Greene, Georgia.
“Every idea we had in our heads, she seemed to verbalize very well,” Harling said.
What no one else said may be Greaney’s most enduring legacy as he steps down Monday, halfway through his third term in Congress. First, it was his embrace of conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric, turning him into a national symbol of political culture without railings. Then it was his willingness to criticize Trump, a divide that made his position in Washington untenable.
In interviews in Greene’s district, constituents repeatedly described him as a “militant.” For Republicans like Harling, that was enough.
“We got a lot of satisfaction,” Harling said. “She was our voice.”
It was less satisfying to independents like Heath Patterson, who struggled to think that Green’s fame and notoriety would make a difference to his district while in the U.S. Capitol.
“I don’t know what she did here, except to listen to her voice, of course. But where, how did we benefit from it?” He said. “I don’t think we did.”
MAGA From Warrior to Exile
Green began feuding with Trump last year, criticizing his focus on foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president finally had enough, saying he would support a primary challenger against him. Green announced her resignation a week later.
She has been criticizing Trump ever since, including this weekend’s decision to attack Venezuela.
“This is what many at MAGA thought they voted to end,” Greene wrote on social media on Saturday. “Boy were we wrong.”
The split was surprising because, up to that point, Green’s trajectory had mirrored Trump’s own rise to power. She did not become politically involved until her 2016 presidential campaign and first ran for Congress in 2020. Green considered trying to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the Atlanta suburbs, before moving to the 14th, where there was a Republican incumbent.
She remained loyal to Trump after his loss to President Joe Biden, spouting his lies about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
His Georgia district is one of the most Republican-leaning in the state, though it wasn’t always that way. The region once supported Democrats like Jill Miller, a governor and U.S. senator who led Georgia’s lottery program that still bankrolls college scholarships and early childhood education programs.
But residents have felt left behind by years of change, with Jan Porquoi, a native of Belgium who immigrated in 1987, became a U.S. citizen and later won local office in Whitfield County.
His county’s population has grown by about 32% since 1990, which pales in comparison to the statewide increase of 74%. As the United States becomes more urban, secular and diverse, Porquoi said residents believe they are being “culturally oppressed.”
“They see themselves as great Americans, proud Americans, Christian Americans, and it doesn’t fit the American model as they see it,” said Porquoi, who said he left the Republican Party because of Trump. Green gave an example of a political response, which he summarized as “stick them – any way you can”.
Leaders in Georgia, as in many other states, have spent years drawing congressional districts to pack like-minded voters together. That means in red areas, whoever wins the Republican primary is sure to come out on top in the general election, encouraging candidates like Greene with more radical views.
The political landscape means former Republicans like Porquoi or independents like Patterson say they have no shot at helping the centrist win.
“I’m kind of square in the middle,” Patterson said, sometimes feeling like he’s “the only one around here who’s like this.”
Republicans plan to push their way forward
Whitfield County Republicans gathered at a local restaurant last month for their annual Christmas party, where seasonal decorations and a visit from Santa Claus mingled with red, white and blue regalia and a dash of MAGA paraphernalia.
There was still a deep affection for Greene and much to say about the cultural issues he championed.
“I think it’s just the fact that she was adamant about ‘America First,'” said Gavin Swafford, who worked on Green’s initial campaign.
Swafford called him a “responsible representative” because of his feud with Republican leaders.
Lisa Adams, a party volunteer, called Green “our stand-up guy.”
“Look at his stance on transgenderism. That’s a big deal,” she said. “Abortion. That’s a big deal.”
None of Green’s inconsistencies — real or perceived — were the problem, they said.
For example, Green has praised Korean-owned solar panel factories in the district, despite voting against Biden-era policies aimed at boosting production. She broke with Republicans, including Trump, and sided with Democrats who wanted to extend premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance customers.
No Republican at the Christmas party showed any interest in taking sides between Trump and Green.
“I think it’s inevitable when you have two firebrands that are both stubborn,” Swafford said.
When asked if the district could leave more traditional lawmakers, cut bipartisan deals and bring home as much federal money as possible, Swafford wasn’t concerned.
“The biggest contribution Marjorie made wasn’t even in law,” he said.
Still, there was a sense among some that Green, for all his bare-bones politics, could move on.
Starr Black, a Republican who is running to replace Greene, was planning a primary challenge even before he announced his resignation.
“You had a great representative who was a fighter. Well, you know what? I wanted to take it a step further,” Black said.
Black said, “You need someone who listens, not just a fighter. You need someone who represents you.”
