Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who stood by his state's 2020 election results despite President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud, officially launched his campaign for governor on Wednesday.
"I'm a conservative Republican, and I'm prepared to make the tough decisions," Raffensperger said in an ad released on Wednesday morning. "I follow the law and the Constitution, and I always do the right thing for Georgia, no matter what."
Raffensperger did not mention Trump, who has endorsed GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the governor's race, in his announcement video.
Trump and Raffensperger clashed in 2020 over the election results in Georgia, which former President Joe Biden won by just under 12,000 votes. In a phone call on January 2, 2021, Trump asked Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," which could have tipped the election in Trump's favor. Raffensperger refused, saying, "We have to stand by our numbers. We believe our numbers are right" and added that Trump could bring his case before a court.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) said in a statement, "Brad Raffensperger's campaign launch injects a new level of chaos into what was already a messy primary — and is bad news for Burt Jones and [Georgia Attorney General] Chris Carr," who are also running for the GOP nomination.
"With Raffensperger in, Republicans are set to be locked into a vicious primary between three candidates who all have a record of cheering on Donald Trump's cost-raising, job-killing agenda, opposing Medicaid expansion, and stripping away reproductive freedoms. No matter who wins this primary, the Republican nominee will be badly damaged — and completely out of touch with Georgians," DGA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe added.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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