CHAMBLEE, Ga. (AP) 鈥� Being as well known as Georgia Secretary of State would be a dream for many ambitious politicians.
鈥淚 think most people by now know who I am,鈥� the Republican candidate for governor joked Tuesday as someone put up signs with his name before a speech in the Atlanta suburb of Chamblee.
But that fame may wound Raffensperger in next Tuesday’s primary because it stems from to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential victory in 2020. He was one of a few Georgia leaders who by rejecting his falsehoods, and even though Raffesperger won reelection in 2022, many Republicans still view him as a traitor.
Now the 70-year-old is spending millions of his own money trying to reintroduce himself as the person he was before that moment in the spotlight.
鈥淚 really think I need to let people know that I鈥檓 actually a conservative Christian businessman,鈥� Raffensperger told reporters recently. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 realize, that鈥檚 where I cut my teeth.”
It’s unclear whether Republican voters are willing to forgive Raffensperger’s political heresy in a party that remains in thrall to Trump. He’s faced threats over the years, and spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said Raffensperger was informed of a credible one Monday as he began flying around the state on a campaign swing.
A sheriff’s office in Mississippi received a four-page document including a picture of Raffensperger with the word 鈥渂oom鈥� written across his forehead, Mahoney said. Law enforcement agencies did not immediately acknowledge an investigation.
When authorities swept the Macon airport ahead of Raffensperger’s arrival Tuesday, a police dog found a suspicious object that prompted an evacuation. It was not a bomb, and Raffensperger gave his speech on the tarmac.
Raffensperger is trying to offer himself as an alternative to Georgia voters who may be recoiling from an expensive and ugly primary featuring Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. and healthcare billionaire , who are spending huge sums attacking each other.
One Raffensperger television advertisement portrays Jones and Jackson firing guns wildly into the air while Raffensperger takes careful aim at targets one by one. Another depicts 鈥渃reepy Rick Jackson鈥� and 鈥渂ig baby Burt Jones鈥� throwing mud at each other in a barnyard.
“All they have been talking about is each other and running each other down,” Raffensperger said Tuesday. “No one鈥檚 talking about the most important person. And that鈥檚 our fellow Georgian.鈥�
Trying to shed the baggage of 2020
Raffensperger likely has a narrow shot at the nomination. Even if he qualifies for a June 16 runoff, the campaign could quickly turn into a brawl over which candidate is the most conservative, an environment in which Raffensperger would face even more severe attacks over disloyalty to Trump.
Because he’s directly responsible for election administration as secretary of state, Raffensperger has been a punching bag for many Republicans, even some who aren’t notable Trump loyalists. His relations have been particularly bad with Jones, one of who declared themselves 鈥渄uly elected and qualified鈥� electors for Trump in 2020 even though Biden won the state.
Georgia Republican Party delegates Raffensperger from running under the party鈥檚 banner, saying he鈥檚 hostile to Trump, but the party qualified him anyway. A judge last month dismissed an effort by two voters to throw him off the primary ballot.
Raffensperger’s campaign estimates that a fifth of the state’s Republican electorate would never vote for him, a cadre they describe as 鈥渘ever-Raffensperger.鈥�
Sabrina Mao, a Cobb County resident who attended a Jones campaign appearance Tuesday in Smyrna, said, 鈥淓verybody knows there is fraud in voting.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he was doing anything good,鈥� Mao said of Raffensperger. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a follower. I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 a leader.鈥�
Raffensperger is definitely a throwback to an older Republican Party. While other campaigns deploy blaring country music and barbecue, Raffensperger鈥檚 go-to move is a speech to a Rotary Club.
He sold his concrete reinforcement company, Tendon Systems, for an undisclosed amount in 2023. Through last week, Raffensperger had loaned his campaign $6 million and spent or committed at least $4.2 million on ads. That pales next to Jackson and Jones, who are self-funding their campaigns at unprecedented levels. Jones has loaned his campaign $17 million, while Jackson has dumped a staggering $83 million into his electoral bid.
Besides Jones and Jackson, Raffensperger is also running against Republican Attorney General , who appeals to many of the same voters as Raffensperger.
On the Democratic side, top candidates include former Atlanta Mayor , state Sen. and former state Labor Commissioner .
, a former Republican lieutenant governor who also spurned Trump鈥檚 push to overturn the 2020 election, is running as a Democrat as well.
A focus on jobs instead of elections
Raffensperger stands behind how Georgia’s elections are run, but quickly pivots to preferred themes of creating high-paying jobs, cutting property taxes, enhancing school safety and supporting Trump’s efforts to increase manufacturing jobs.
鈥淚f you can create and, build great paying jobs for people, you can change their lives,鈥� Raffensperger said last month when answering a reporter’s question about Georgia’s voting system.
He frequently portrays himself as standing up against Democrat , a frequent critic of Republican election administration, hoping to unite Republicans who despise Abrams.
“Brad Raffensperger secures Georgia鈥檚 elections like Joe Biden secures the border 鈥� and no amount of false advertising can erase that record,鈥� Jones campaign manager Kendyl Parker wrote to television stations Tuesday, demanding that they take down Raffensperger’s mudslinging ad, which also mentions Abrams and Biden.
Among the supporters Raffensperger needs most are the suburban voters who have backed conservatives but have been leery of Trump. For example, in 2022, many cast but voted for Democrat for Senate because they were turned off by GOP candidate Herschel Walker.
Katherine Weber of suburban Sandy Springs, for example, described herself as 鈥淩epublican, but not pro-Trump鈥� after she cast her ballot last month.
鈥淚 voted for Brad Raffensperger,鈥� Weber said. 鈥淚 feel like he is a man of integrity and not swayed by politics. He doesn’t do whatever Trump says.鈥�
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