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Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary runoff)

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Georgia's 14th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
Republican primary runoff
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 6, 2020
Primary: June 9, 2020
Primary runoff: August 11, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
General runoff: January 5, 2021
Pre-election incumbent:
Tom Graves (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Georgia
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Georgia's 14th Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th
Georgia elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated John Cowan in the Republican primary runoff for Georgia's 14th Congressional District. Greene received 57% of the vote to Cowan's 43%. Incumbent Tom Graves (R), who assumed office in 2010, did not seek re-election.

Cowan was a neurosurgeon and owned a toy company as of his 2020 campaign. Greene owned a construction company. Patrick Filbin of the Chattanooga Times Free Press wrote, "With similar stances on issues, the runoff campaign has come down to who might be most effective in Washington."[1]

The race received national attention after Politico reported on comments Greene made about Muslims and Black people. Other reports discussed comments she made about QAnon.[2] Greene defended her comments, saying, "Every Republican, every Christian Conservative is going to be called a racist and a bigot by the Fake News Media, as have Steve Scalise and Liz Cheney. I’m sorry my future colleagues are unable to stand up to the pressure and fight back."[3] She criticized Cowan by saying he never donated to Donald Trump but donated to Chris Christie's 2016 presidential campaign.

Cowan told Greene at a debate, "I'll be the best ally that Donald Trump has by getting elected and keeping you out of office, because the Democrats will use you as their chief fundraiser for all the crazy and ludicrous things that you say." He also criticized Greene for switching from running in the 6th District primary to the 14th District primary after Graves announced he wasn't seeking re-election.[4]

In the June 9 primary, Greene received 40% of the vote to Cowan's 21%. Nine candidates ran. A candidate needed more than 50% of the vote to win the primary outright. Three election forecasters rated the general election Safe or Solid Republican as of August 2020.


Democratic Party For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Grey.png For more information about the general election, click here.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Georgia modified its primary election process as follows:

  • Election postponements: The statewide and presidential preference primary elections were postponed to June 9, 2020.
  • Voting procedures: Absentee ballot application forms to all active voters in the primary election.
  • Political party events: The Republican Party of Georgia canceled its state convention, originally scheduled to take place on May 29-30, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene
 
57.1
 
43,813
Image of John Cowan
John Cowan
 
42.9
 
32,982

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 76,795
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene
 
40.3
 
43,892
✔
Image of John Cowan
John Cowan
 
21.0
 
22,862
Image of John Barge
John Barge
 
8.8
 
9,619
Image of Clayton Fuller
Clayton Fuller Candidate Connection
 
6.8
 
7,433
Image of Bill Hembree
Bill Hembree
 
6.4
 
6,988
Image of Kevin Cooke
Kevin Cooke
 
6.2
 
6,699
Image of Matt Laughridge
Matt Laughridge
 
5.7
 
6,220
Image of Ben Bullock
Ben Bullock
 
3.6
 
3,883
Image of Andy Gunther
Andy Gunther Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
1,220

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 108,816
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[5] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

John Cowan

Image of John Cowan

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Cowan graduated from Davidson College with a B.S. in physics. He received an M.D. from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a residency in neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical School. As of his 2020 campaign, Cowan was a neurosurgeon and founder of Cortex Toys and Cortex Holdings.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Cowan said, “We need a representative in Washington with the backbone to stand up to deranged Democrats and weak Republicans. In Congress, I’ll fight beside President Donald J. Trump to protect our values and end the liberal assault on our God-given rights.”

Cowan’s campaign said, "As a neurosurgeon, John will bring his experience and expertise to Washington to help craft solutions to improve healthcare delivery and lower costs of care.”

Cowan stated, “I was born and raised in northwest Georgia ... I didn’t shop for a district to run in. I’m running for Congress here because this is home for me.”

Show sources

Sources: Facebook, "John Cowan on April 13, 2020," accessed April 26, 2020, Facebook, "John Cowan on April 15, 2020," accessed April 26, 2020, John Cowan 2020 campaign website, "Meet John Cowan," accessed April 26, 2020; LinkedIn, "John Cowan," accessed April 26, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Georgia District 14 in 2020.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Image of Marjorie Taylor Greene

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Greene graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. As of her 2020 campaign, Greene and her husband owned a commercial construction company. Previously, she started and sold a CrossFit gym.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Greene said, “I'm a conservative wife, mother of three, and businesswoman in the construction industry who stands with President Trump and against the left-wing socialists who want to wreck our country.”

Greene stated, “I’m running to stop gun control, open borders, the Green New Deal, and socialism.”

Greene’s campaign said, “Radical socialists want Americans on the same government-run healthcare plan with welfare recipients and illegal immigrants. Marjorie Greene is fighting against these radical socialists and will take the fight to Congress.”

Show sources

Sources: Facebook, "Marjorie Taylor Greene," accessed April 26, 2020, Facebook, "Marjorie Taylor Greene on April 6, 2020," accessed April 26, 2020, Marjorie Greene 2020 campaign website, "Why Marjorie?" accessed April 26, 2020; Marjorie Taylor Greene 2020 campaign website, "Meet Marjorie," accessed April 26, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Georgia District 14 in 2020.

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
John Cowan Republican Party $1,459,715 $1,448,098 $11,618 As of December 31, 2020
Marjorie Taylor Greene Republican Party $2,631,427 $2,259,896 $371,531 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


Primaries in Georgia

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Georgia utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[8][9]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

What was at stake in the general election?

See also: Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020

U.S. House elections were held on November 3, 2020, and coincided with the 2020 presidential election. All 435 House districts were up for election, and the results determined control of the U.S. House in the 117th Congress.

At the time of the election, Democrats had a 232-197 advantage over Republicans. There was one Libertarian member, and there were five vacancies. Republicans needed to gain a net 21 seats to win control of the House. Democrats needed to gain seats or lose fewer than 14 net seats to keep their majority.

In the 2018 midterm election, Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats, winning a 235-200 majority in the House. Heading into the 2018 election, Republicans had a 235-193 majority with seven vacancies.

In the 25 previous House elections that coincided with a presidential election, the president's party had gained House seats in 16 elections and lost seats in nine. In years where the president's party won districts, the average gain was 18. In years where the president's party lost districts, the average loss was 27. Click here for more information on presidential partisanship and down-ballot outcomes.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[10]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[11][12][13]

Race ratings: Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+27, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 27 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Georgia's 14th Congressional District the 10th most Republican nationally.[14]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.90. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.90 points toward that party.[15]

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 159 Georgia counties—3.14 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Baker County, Georgia 8.68% 0.57% 1.07%
Dooly County, Georgia 2.05% 6.98% 3.53%
Peach County, Georgia 2.91% 7.48% 6.75%
Quitman County, Georgia 10.92% 9.04% 7.90%
Twiggs County, Georgia 1.58% 8.64% 6.97%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Georgia with 50.8 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 45.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Georgia voted Democratic 63.33 percent of the time and Republican 36.67 percent of the time. Georgia voted Republican in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Georgia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[16][17]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 64 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 45.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 74 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 42.3 points. Clinton won 14 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 116 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 106 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


District election history

2018

See also: Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Incumbent Tom Graves defeated Steven Foster in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tom Graves
Tom Graves (R)
 
76.5
 
175,743
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Steven Foster (D)
 
23.5
 
53,981

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 229,724
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Steven Foster advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Steven Foster
 
100.0
 
10,627

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 10,627
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Incumbent Tom Graves advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tom Graves
Tom Graves
 
100.0
 
38,270

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 38,270
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Tom Graves (R) defeated Patrick Boggs (Write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Graves defeated Allan Levene and Mickey Tuck in the Republican primary on May 24, 2016.[18][19]

U.S. House, Georgia District 14 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTom Graves Incumbent 100% 216,743
Total Votes 216,743
Source: Georgia Secretary of State


U.S. House, Georgia District 14 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTom Graves Incumbent 75.6% 44,260
Mickey Tuck 12.8% 7,493
Allan Levene 11.5% 6,755
Total Votes 58,508
Source: Georgia Secretary of State

2014

See also: Georgia's 14th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 14th Congressional District of Georgia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Tom Graves (R) won an uncontested general election.

U.S. House, Georgia District 14 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTom Graves Incumbent 100% 118,782
Total Votes 118,782
Source: Georgia Secretary of State

State profile

See also: Georgia and Georgia elections, 2020
USA Georgia location map.svg

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of April 9, 2020

Presidential voting pattern

  • Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

Georgia Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Georgia quick stats
More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia:


Demographic data for Georgia
 GeorgiaU.S.
Total population:10,199,398316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):57,5133,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:60.2%73.6%
Black/African American:30.9%12.6%
Asian:3.6%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.1%3%
Hispanic/Latino:9.1%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:28.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,620$53,889
Persons below poverty level:21.1%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Greene, Cowan set for runoff showdown in Georgia's 14th District," August 3, 2020
  2. ↑ Politico, "House Republican leaders condemn GOP candidate who made racist videos," updated June 18, 2020
  3. ↑ Twitter, "Marjorie Taylor Greene on June 17," accessed August 6, 2020
  4. ↑ Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Greene, Cowan face off in first televised debate for 14th Congressional District," July 19, 2020
  5. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  6. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  7. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  8. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 12, 2024
  9. ↑ Justia, "2023 Georgia Code § 21-2-224 - Registration deadlines; restrictions on voting in primaries; official list of electors; voting procedure when portion of county changed from one county to another," accessed August 12, 2024
  10. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  14. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  15. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  16. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  17. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  18. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 12, 2016
  19. ↑ The New York Times, "Georgia Primary Results," May 24, 2016


Georgia's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jon Ossoff (D)
Raphael Warnock (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
Republican Party (9)
Democratic Party (7)


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