Georgia 14th Congressional District

NPR reports that since President Trump returned to office, Democrats have consistently outperformed their 2024 presidential baseline in special and off-year elections across the country, with average gains of about 11 percentage points in 2026 special elections and roughly 13 points since early 2025. The trend was on display April 8, 2026, when liberal candidate Chris Taylor won a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat 60%–40% over conservative Maria Lazar, expanding liberals’ majority to 5–2 in a state Trump carried by less than a point, and in deep-red Georgia’s 14th District, where Republican Clay Fuller still won a special-election runoff but Democrat Shawn Harris cut the GOP margin to 56%–44% in a Trump +~40 seat. NPR pairs these results with turnout data showing elevated Democratic participation in 2026 primaries — including a record 2.3 million votes in the Texas Democratic primary, higher Democratic than Republican statewide turnout in North Carolina, and nearly an 80% jump in Mississippi Democratic primary turnout compared with 2018. Analysts tie this performance to Trump’s sub-40% job approval amid an unpopular Iran war, high gas prices and economic pessimism, plus polling that shows voters preferring Democratic control of Congress and Democratic voters more eager to vote, even as both parties remain unpopular. The pattern is feeding online speculation that 2026 could bring a typical midterm backlash against the party in power, with Democrats’ current edge driven largely by more reliable turnout in lower-profile contests rather than any sudden surge in affection for Democratic leaders.