Georgia's Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state who rejected Donald Trump's call to help overturn the state's 2020 election results, said Wednesday that he's running for governor. The wealthy engineering entrepreneur might appeal most to business-oriented Republicans who once dominated GOP primaries in Georgia, but he is pledging a strongly conservative campaign even while he remains scorned by Trump and his allies. Raffensperger's entry into the field intensifies the primary in a state with an unbroken line of Republican governors since 2002. "I'm a conservative Republican, and I'm prepared to make the tough decisions. I follow the law and the Constitution, and I'll always do the right thing for Georgia no matter what," Raffensperger said in an announcement video.
Raffensperger defied Trump's wrath to win reelection in 2022, but he will again test GOP primary voters' tolerance for a candidate so clearly targeted by the president. His first challenge may be to even qualify for the primary, reports the AP. Georgia's Republican Party voted in June to ban Raffensperger from running under its banner, although the party chairman said that attempt might not go anywhere. Two other top Republicans are already in the race—Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr. Jones swore himself to be a "duly elected and qualified" elector for Trump in 2020 even though Joe Biden had been declared the state's winner. Carr sided with Raffensperger in rejecting challenges to the results.
On the Democratic side, top candidates include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves and former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. Geoff Duncan, who like Raffensperger spurned Trump's push to overturn the 2020 election as Republican lieutenant governor, entered the governor's race Tuesday as a Democrat. Raffensperger pledges what he calls a "bold conservative agenda," including eliminating the state income tax, capping property taxes for seniors, banning drugs that block puberty from gender-affirming care, and purging "woke curriculums" from schools. He also promises to work with Trump to increase jobs, deport immigrants with criminal records, and "restore law and order."
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Although he starts later than other candidates, Raffensperger benefits from an electorate that already knows him, plus an ability to finance his own campaign. The 70-year-old sold his concrete reinforcement company, Tendon Systems, for an undisclosed amount in 2023.
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