Brad Raffensperger has served two terms as secretary of state, overseeing Georgia’s elections. The Republican from Johns Creek is seeking his party’s nomination for governor.
Here are his stances and record on key issues:
Affordability
Raffensperger says he would make Georgia more affordable through job creation and tax cuts.
If elected governor, Raffensperger says he would recruit manufacturing businesses and health science industries to replace job losses such as those in rural areas where paper mills have closed. He wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to American soil after businesses relocated to countries with lower labor costs.
He says the key to making life affordable is to create “great paying jobs” where Georgians can earn more than $100,000 a year.
Raffensperger’s answer to inflation is to cap property tax increases and exempt seniors from all property taxes except those that fund education and public safety.
Taxes
Raffensperger proposes limiting annual property tax increases to the inflation rate, preventing big tax increases that some homeowners have paid because of rapidly rising property values.
He said families were devastated by rising prices in recent years that drove up home values, which led to increasing property assessments and higher property tax bills. Property taxes are the primary funding source for schools and local governments, which pay for public safety, transportation, libraries and parks.
Raffensperger’s plan would limit property tax increases to the Consumer Price Index, which he says would save an average homeowner over $600 per year on a $300,000 home.
In addition, Raffensperger says seniors living on fixed incomes shouldn’t face the prospect of losing their home because of property taxes after a lifetime of paying them.
Senior homeowners over age 66 would be exempt from all property taxes except those directly funding local schools and public safety, according to Raffensperger’s plan. He says a typical $3,000 annual property tax bill could drop to about $2,000 for senior citizens.
Immigration
Raffensperger’s immigration plan focuses more on stopping crime and drug trafficking than on deporting immigrants living in the country illegally.
Raffensperger, whose son died of a fentanyl overdose, supports President Donald Trump’s executive order that classified fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. He says he would target cartels and gangs that manufacture, traffic, and profit from the drug.
Federal records show that 80% of people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry from 2019 to 2024 were U.S. citizens, not immigrants, according to the Cato Institute, which advocates for free markets and limited government.
The government needs to secure the U.S. border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the country, Raffensperger says.
If elected, he says he would fund law enforcement, crack down on drug trafficking, and support federal efforts to deport criminals.
Healthcare
Raffensperger would work with private hospitals and health companies to improve coverage rather than rely on government programs. He wants a “private free market solution.”
He supports creating “charity clinics” where doctors use a sliding fee structure based on what patients could afford. He points to a Gainesville clinic where doctors donate their time to provide free care to uninsured patients as a model.
Like most Georgia Republicans, Raffensperger opposes a full-scale expansion of Medicaid, the state and federal health care plan for the poor and disabled.
Georgia is one of 10 states that has decided against expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act, which would provide 90% federal funding for health insurance coverage to lower-income adults who still earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid.
Housing
Raffensperger wants to limit large corporate investors from buying up single-family homes, which he says reduces the availability of housing and drives up prices.
Raffensperger framed his housing proposal as way to promote neighborhoods owned by families rather than “corporate greed” by investors trying to maximize profits.
He says institutional investors who buy hundreds or thousands of homes make the dream of homeownership unattainable for many families.
Three companies collectively owned more than 19,000 rental homes in metro Atlanta, according to a 2024 report by Georgia State University and Rutgers University.
Attempts to limit investor homeownership failed at the General Assembly this year.
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