DALTON, Ga. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a traitor. But for Jackie Harling, who leads the local Republican Party in the northwest corner of Georgia in Greene, she’s still “mama bear.”
“Every thought we had in our minds, she seemed to be very good at verbalizing,” Harling said.
Saying things no one else would say could be Greene’s most lasting legacy when she steps down Monday, stepping down halfway through her third term in Congress. First, it was her embrace of conspiracy theories and inflammatory rhetoric, turning her into a national symbol of a no-holds-barred political culture. Then there was her willingness to criticize Trump, a schism that made her position in Washington untenable.
In interviews in Greene’s district, voters repeatedly described her as a “fighter.” For Republicans like Harling, that was enough.
“We have a lot of satisfaction,” Harling said. “She was our voice.”
It was less satisfying for an independent like Heath Patterson, who struggled to think of ways in which Greene’s fame and notoriety made a difference for her district during her time in the U.S. Capitol.
“I know nothing of what she has done here, except, of course, she has made her voice heard. But where have I done, how have I benefited from it?” he said. “I don’t think I did.”
From MAGA warrior to exile
Greene began clashing with Trump last year, criticizing his focus on foreign policy and reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president finally had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that he would resign.
She has continued the criticism ever since, including over Trump’s decision to strike Venezuela this weekend.
“This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end,” Greene wrote on social media Saturday. “Boy, were we wrong.”
The split was surprising because, up to that point, Greene’s trajectory had mirrored Trump’s own rise to power. She did not become politically involved until his 2016 presidential campaign and ran for Congress for the first time in 2020. Greene considered trying to represent Georgia’s 6th congressional district, which includes suburban Atlanta, before moving to the 14th, where the Republican incumbent was retiring.
She remained loyal to Trump after he lost to President Joe Biden, promoting his lies about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
Her Georgia district is one of the most Republican-leaning in the state, though it hasn’t always been that way. The region once supported Democrats like Zell Miller, a governor and U.S. senator who ran Georgia’s lottery program, which still funds college scholarships and early education programs.
But residents felt left behind by years of change, said Jan Pourquoi, 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 about 32 percent since 1990, which pales in comparison to the statewide increase of 74 percent. As the US becomes more urban, secular and diverse, Pourquoi said residents believe they are being “culturally oppressed.”
“They see themselves as great Americans, proud Americans, Christian Americans, and that no longer fits the model of America as they see it,” said Pourquoi, who said he left the Republican Party because of Trump. Greene exemplified the political reaction, which he summed up as “hanging on to them – in any way possible”.
Leaders in Georgia, like those in many other states, have spent years drawing congressional districts to pack in like-minded voters. That means in red areas, whoever wins the Republican primary is virtually guaranteed to come out on top in the general election, boosting candidates like Greene with tougher views.
The political landscape means former Republicans like Pourquoi or independents like Patterson say they have no chance of helping a centrist win.
“I’m kind of square in the middle,” Patterson said, adding that sometimes he feels like “the only one around here that’s like that.”
Republicans are plotting their way forward
Whitfield County Republicans gathered at a local restaurant last month for their annual Christmas party, where seasonal decor and a visit from Santa mingled with red, white and blue regalia and a handful of MAGA paraphernalia.
It was still a deep affection for Greene, and much was said about the cultural issues he championed.
“I think it’s just that she was adamant about ‘America First,'” said Gavin Swafford, who worked on Greene’s original campaign.
Swafford called her “a representative of accountability” because of her clashes with Republican leaders.
Lisa Adams, a party volunteer, called Greene “our stand-up person.”
“Look at her stance on transgenderism. It’s a big one,” she said. “Abortion. It’s a big one.”
None of Greene’s inconsistencies — real or perceived — were a problem, they said.
For example, Greene praised Korean-owned solar panel factories in the district even after voting against Biden-era policies meant to boost manufacturing. She broke with Republicans, including Trump, and sided with Democrats who wanted to expand premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance customers.
None of the Republicans at the Christmas party expressed interest in taking sides between Trump and Greene.
“I think it’s inevitable when you have two firebrands who are both stubborn,” Swafford said.
Asked if the district didn’t have a more traditional legislator, the kind who could seal bipartisan deals and bring as much federal money back home as possible, Swafford wasn’t concerned.
“The biggest thing Marjorie contributed wasn’t even in legislation,” he said.
However, there was also a sense among some that Greene, for all her bare-knuckle politics, could have gone further.
Star Black, a Republican running to replace Greene, was already planning a primary challenge before announcing her resignation.
“You had a great rep who was a fighter. Well, you know what? I want to take it a step further,” Black said.
“Not only do you need a fighter,” Black said, “you need someone to listen to you. You need someone to represent you.”