Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rival reveals a way to bring her down

Shawn Harris, the 40-year-old military veteran who hopes to unseat U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, in the November election, said: Newsweek He is convinced that he can win on the basis of a coalition of moderate Republicans and female voters.

Harris was selected as the Democratic Party’s nominee for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, a traditionally conservative area where Greene won comfortably in the 2022 midterm elections. In an interview with NewsweekHarris argued that Greene’s antics in Congress – which included her unsuccessful attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, earlier this year – played poorly in her district and made a surprise result in November possible.

Since her election in November 2020, Greene, who called Harris “my greatest asset” in terms of fundraising, has earned a reputation as one of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress. She has referred to Trump supporters arrested for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as “political prisoners” and suggested there should be a “national divorce” in America between Republican and Democratic-dominated states.

Harris, who won a Democratic runoff election for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District in June, said Newsweek in a phone interview earlier this week that Greene’s behavior means the traditionally conservative seat could be at stake in November.

“More and more Democrats, but especially more and more Republicans, are saying more openly that they are fed up with Marjorie Taylor Greene and want something different. That’s how we will win,” he said. “But it won’t just be Republicans. It will be women too, because Marjorie Taylor Greene is fighting against women and I believe that many women will stand up for that.”

Referring to moderate Republicans, Harris added: “As Republicans, they may say, ‘I just can’t vote for a Democrat.’ No problem, but guess what they’re going to do? They’re going to push their way to the front. They’re not going to vote for me and they’re not going to vote for Marjorie Taylor Greene, and then you’re going to see those numbers actually change.”

In his appeal to female voters, Harris emphasized his support for Roe v. Wadewhich was upheld by the US Supreme Court in June 2022 in its Dobbs v. Jackson – Women’s Health Organization decision and said abortion is “a decision that must be made between a woman, her doctor and her family.”

After roe was overturned, Greene celebrated the court’s decision on social media, calling it a “miracle.” In a video she posted on X, formerly Twitter, she said at the time: “I think it’s a miracle. I’m so thrilled, I cried about it. Everyone here is celebrating that the Supreme Court had the courage, that they had the bravery to overturn the decision. Roe v. Wadeand give it back to the states.”

He also claimed that Greene had failed to bring well-paying jobs for educated women to the district.

“During COVID-19, many women have taken the time to complete their college degrees online. But from an economic perspective, Marjorie has not worked to bring big jobs here,” Harris said.

Harris served in the military for 40 years and recently retired as a brigadier general to run a cattle ranch in Rockmart, Georgia. During his time in the military, Harris participated in combat operations in Afghanistan, was part of a U.S. team sent to Liberia to combat the Ebola outbreak, and also served in Kosovo and Israel, where he was most recently deployed.

Harris also argued that while Greene’s antics have attracted media attention, she has failed to bring anything positive to her district.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene spends all her time up there (in Washington DC) creating chaos, and after three and a half years, she hasn’t brought anything of importance back here in this district, and that’s what a congressman is supposed to do…” Harris said. “If you look at Marjorie after three and a half years, she really hasn’t done anything. She talks a lot, she creates a lot of chaos, she’s in a civil war with the Republican Party at the state level and also at the national level, and that’s just not who we are here in northwest Georgia.”

Harris also said Greene was undermining the democratic values ​​he spent his life fighting for in the military, particularly through her stance on the riots at the U.S. Capitol when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Referring to the country, Harris said: “We are the beacon that people around the world look to, and that’s exactly what I did for many years in the military: I am the representative of the United States from a military perspective who says, ‘Look, you have to think about your democracy, you have to think about your people, you have to believe in the rule of law.'”

He continued, “Now Marjorie Taylor Greene is a threat to all of that. First of all, she still says today that January 6th was not a bad thing. She still says that the individuals who broke into our Capitol did nothing wrong. She still says that the individuals who were brought to justice by our justice system and her fellow citizens did nothing wrong.”

Newsweek reached out to Representative Greene via email outside of normal business hours for comment.

As part of the 118th Congress, the Republican congresswoman serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee, and the Special Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The “About” section of Greene’s House website states that she “has a lifetime of business experience, having worked in her family’s business since she was a young child.”

“In 2002, Marjorie purchased Taylor Commercial, a commercial real estate construction and renovation company. The company has since completed a quarter of a billion dollars in construction projects. Marjorie successfully started, grew and sold a thriving CrossFit gym here in Georgia that has become one of the top CrossFit gyms in the country. Marjorie has a unique perspective on how to be successful from the ground up through real hard work and financial responsibility…”

It continued: “Marjorie has a strong Christian faith and believes that we must continue to protect our great freedoms and work to ensure that America remains a great country for generations to come.”

Meanwhile, several Democrats have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race after his lackluster performance in the debate against Trump last month. Biden appeared to lose his thread at several points during the debate, with a Biden adviser previously saying: Newsweek that the president is battling a cold. Biden has stated that he will not resign and will continue to run for re-election.

Harris, who met Biden during his visit to Israel, stood by the president and said he was fit for a second term.

“I actually know Joe Biden, I know the president, the president had a bad night that night. Yes, that’s true, period. He admitted he had a bad night, but he also said he knows how to get back up and stay in the fight, and that’s the president that I support, that I know, that I know will win the election for us,” he said.