Republicans win but Democrats also claim victory with ballot box surge in Trump territory

"He was the difference maker," Fuller, who was backed by Trump, emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview following his victory Tuesday night. "He was the key factor in us winning."

The special election came as Republicans clung to a fragile 218-214 majority in the House. The GOP was under the gun to make sure the Democrats didn't pull off an upset in a district that Trump carried by a whopping 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory.

But even in defeat, Democrats see cause for celebration.

Harris, a cattle farmer who spent four decades in the military and retired as an Army brigadier general, lost to Fuller by roughly 12 points, according to the latest election results. That's a significant improvement from the 29-point defeat he suffered to Greene in her 2024 re-election.

"In the deepest-red congressional district in Georgia - and despite more than $1.5 million in spending by Republicans to defend this Trump +37 seat - Democrat Shawn Harris notched a jaw-dropping more than 20-point overperformance in Marjorie Taylor Greene's backyard," said Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, in a statement.

And Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin highlighted that "Shawn Harris ran a fearless campaign in the reddest district in all of Georgia, delivering a double-digit overperformance."

Fuller pushed back on the Democrats' messaging.

"They lost. They've got to call me congressman, and they poured in millions of dollars, just lit millions of dollars on fire, and still got crushed," he argued, in his Fox News Digital interview.

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon said that "Democrats threw everything they had at this race... They made this the Super Bowl and they lost."

And Delanie Bomar, the Republican National Committee's director of regional communications, claimed in a statement to Fox News Digital that "anyone who believes these results are a sign of what's to come is dumber than a box of rocks. Special elections are special and not a true depiction of what will happen to the terrorist-sympathizing and defund the police activist Democrats this fall." 

The runoff in Georgia wasn't the only major election on Tuesday night.

Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state representative, defeated Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, a conservative. Taylor will succeed a retiring conservative justice and with the victory, liberals will expand their majority on the state Supreme Court to 5-2.

Taylor ended up topping Lazar by roughly 20 points, a larger victory than expected. And national Democrats once again were quick to showcase the overperformance.

"Wisconsin voters showed up and sent another big message to Republicans, securing a liberal majority until 2030!" the DNC's Martin said in a social media post.

It's hard to deny that Democrats are on a roll in electoral showdowns since the start of Trump's second term.

The flipping of two GOP-controlled state Senate seats in Iowa last year denied Republicans their super majority in the chamber. Democrats also scored larger than expected victories in last November's gubernatorial elections in blue-leaning Virginia and New Jersey, and over performed in last December's special congressional election in a red-leaning district in Tennessee.

Earlier this year, plenty of Republicans were calling their party's double-digit shellacking in a state Senate election in a ruby red district in Texas in an early February special election a "wake-up call" for the party.

And in special elections two weeks ago, Democrats in Florida flipped a state Senate seat and a state House district that includes Mar-a-Lago, Trump's home turf in Palm Beach.

Partially fueling the Democrats' ballot box performances is their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.

Meanwhile, Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation's capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns, an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump's underwater approval ratings.

"Enthusiasm for Democrats is growing everywhere. We're closing the gap and Republicans are absolutely terrified," Martin claimed.

But Republicans say that Democrats are overemphasizing their ballot box performances, especially their special election successes in what are often low-turnout contests.

"A low-turnout state House special election is a snapshot of local quirks, candidate dynamics, and turnout math - not some grand verdict," RNC senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said after last month's special election in Palm Beach, Florida.

And veteran Republican strategist and communicator Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital that "historically, special elections have been a poor barometer for what will occur during regularly scheduled midterm or presidential elections. Specials have unique dynamics that don't play as much of a factor when the broader electorate feels the muscle memory of showing up to vote in November."