Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, best known for rejecting Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn Georgia’s 2020 results, entered the governor’s race Wednesday in a bid that will test whether a Republican who crossed the president can still win over his party’s voters.
Raffensperger said he will court voters tired of political polarization while pledging to back Trump’s economic policies and crackdown on illegal immigration. His platform blends bread-and-butter promises with culture-war priorities.
He called for capping property taxes for seniors, eliminating the state income tax and creating “tax-free zones” for struggling communities. At the same time, he said he will back new restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and to “purge woke curriculum in schools.”
“This is a pivotal moment for Georgia’s future,” Raffensperger said. “As governor, I will stand for Georgia. No matter what.”
A multimillionaire construction executive with near-universal name recognition, Raffensperger’s bid is the latest to transform the wide-open race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp. On Tuesday, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican who also clashed with Trump, entered the contest as a Democrat.
On the GOP side, Raffensperger faces two main rivals: Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Trump-aligned candidate who recently secured the president’s endorsement, and Attorney General Chris Carr, who pitches himself as a mainstream Republican in the mold of his mentor, the late U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
The Democratic field is even more unsettled, with Duncan joining former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, ex-state Sen. Jason Esteves and former DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond in the mix.
Raffensperger is betting that his record can attract enough voters to survive a primary dominated by Trump loyalists and then win a tough general election. He has signaled he will dip into his personal fortune to finance his campaign, saying his run will prove there is still space in the GOP for candidates who appeal beyond the base.
“This is America. This is the land of opportunity. This is the land of integrity, honesty, decency and of respectfulness,” he said in a recent “Politically Georgia” interview.
But his candidacy will collide with Trump loyalists who still see him as a traitor for rejecting the president’s demands. His critics are wasting no time trying to turn that defiance into a liability. Within minutes of his launch, Jones released a digital ad labeling both Raffensperger and Duncan as “Never Trumpers” — punctuated by footage of Trump himself attacking them.
Democrats, meanwhile, made clear Raffensperger’s past break with Trump won’t shield him from scrutiny. Party chair Charlie Bailey mocked the Republican for “paying the price of admission to any 2026 GOP primary – fully embracing Donald Trump and his toxic agenda.”
‘The data you have is wrong’
A Pennsylvania native who grew up in Canada, Raffensperger cofounded a steel supply business before serving two years on the Johns Creek City Council and two terms in the state House.
He won the 2018 secretary of state race to succeed Kemp with Trump’s endorsement, just months after his son Brenton died of a fentanyl overdose at 37 — a loss Raffensperger has said deepened his empathy for struggling Georgians.
He kept a relatively low profile inside and outside the Gold Dome until the coronavirus pandemic upended the 2020 election. After Trump lost Georgia by about 12,000 votes, the mild-mannered Raffensperger became a target for fellow Republicans.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Trump blamed Raffensperger and other Georgia officials for his defeat, making false claims of widespread voter fraud despite multiple recounts and audits. Then-U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue — Republicans locked in runoffs that would decide control of the Senate — demanded his resignation. So did many rank-and-file activists.
Then, in January 2021, Trump personally pressured Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn the election. In the hourlong call, Raffensperger repeatedly pushed back, noting that multiple recounts and audits confirmed his defeat.
“Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is, the data you have is wrong,” Raffensperger said at one point.
The recording made him a hero to some, a pariah to others. Trump supporters targeted him with death threats and pledged to oust him from office. He became a fixture on the speaking circuit, published a book with an annotated transcript of the call and even challenged Trump to a debate at the Reagan Library.
His back-and-forth with Trump was also a focus of Fulton County’s far-reaching election interference case, which remains stalled after District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case.
‘Repugnant’
Since the call, Raffensperger has stuck to a reliably conservative agenda while steadfastly defending Georgia’s election system.
In 2022, he easily defeated Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice in the GOP primary before beating Democrat Bee Nguyen in the general election. His 9-point win was the largest percentage margin of any statewide race in Georgia that year.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
His campaign strategy could be a template for his 2026 bid. It involved a spate of visits to Rotary Clubs and local civic organizations, rather than typical grassroots GOP events. But Raffensperger also didn’t shy away from countering election skeptics with the facts about Georgia’s vote. His win, he said at the time, was no rebuke of Trump but “a direct compliment to the goodness of my fellow Georgians.”
More recently, he’s praised Trump’s policies, including his push to extend income tax cuts and boost border security. He’s also working to broaden his appeal, sharpening his role combatting financial fraud.
Still, he remains vilified by some in the GOP base. Jones has cast him as a negligent official unwilling to modernize the state’s electronic voting system. And at the state GOP convention in Dalton this summer, delegates approved a symbolic resolution calling him “repugnant to its brand” and urging he be barred from the Republican ticket.
Polls suggest Raffensperger could be a formidable contender, but his impact on the race is anything but predictable.
“Brad Raffensperger is the biggest wild card in Georgia politics right now, and his entrance into the race immediately changes the dynamic,” said veteran Republican strategist Stephen Lawson, an ally of Jones’ who nonetheless said Raffensperger is a legit contender.
“He is someone who has statewide name ID and can put his own money and his own wealth into that campaign. The lieutenant governor is still clearly the odds on favorite — but Brad has proven he will be a tough out.”
Raffensperger has telegraphed his intentions for months, a signal so clear that Gabriel Sterling, his longtime deputy, announced his campaign to succeed him weeks ago.
At a recent Clayton County business forum, Raffensperger emphasized his focus on three pillars: education, safety and the economy.
“When all three of those come together, what you really have is a thriving area — driving the county, driving the city, driving the state.”
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