Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who defied President Donald Trump’s calls to help overturn the 2020 presidential election results in his state, on Wednesday announced he’ll run for governor of Georgia in 2026.
“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.
The secretary of state will likely face an uphill battle to receive party support as he still draws ire from Trump’s MAGA base for refusing to follow the president’s orders to “find” the votes necessary to overturn the presidential election in 2020. But Trump and the secretary of state appeared to mend fences earlier this summer, at least temporarily, when Raffensperger went to the White House to participate in a discussion with the president on election integrity.
In his announcement, Raffensperger highlighted his experience as a “successful entrepreneur” to bolster his “business plan for Georgia’s future” — which he vowed would increase affordability and boost job creation in the state.
The secretary of state also touted his conservative values, boasting that he had taken on — and won — battles with Democrats like Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden, and promising a “bold conservative agenda” rooted in Republican priorities like parental choice in schools and banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
Raffensperger’s entry into the race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp sets up a potentially competitive contest, as state Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones are also vying for the GOP’s nomination. Jones clinched Trump’s endorsement earlier last month.
Democrats were already playing up the “chaos” of the Republican primary on Wednesday.
“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 Chris Carr,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said in a statement, adding that the three Republican candidates were likely to be “locked into a vicious primary.”
Andrew Howard contributed to this report.
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