Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state who clashed with President Trump over the state’s 2020 election results, is running for governor of Georgia.
Speculation has swirled around whether Mr. Raffensperger would run for the U.S. Senate or governor, notably after Mr. Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ gubernatorial bid.
Mr. Raffensperger decided to test the strength of Mr. Trump’s grip on Georgia’s GOP primary voters.
“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,” Mr. Raffensperger said in an announcement video.
Mr. Raffensperger is one of the few Republican officials across the country who defied Mr. Trump by arguing the 2020 Georgia election was on the up and up, and then managed to remain politically viable.
There are still some questions as to whether he can run in the GOP primary after the Georgia Republican Party passed a resolution this year declaring that the party shall not “take any action to allow Brad Raffensperger to qualify as a Republican” in future elections.
His announcement comes a day after former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who also denounced Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results in Georgia and left his party because of it, announced he was running for governor as a Democrat.
Republicans have held the governorship since 2002.
The race will be playing out alongside the race for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff ranks as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat running for reelection in 2026.
Mr. Trump has yet to endorse in that race, which features several of his allies: Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, as well as former college football coach Derek Dooley.
In the governor’s race, Mr. Jones is running on the Trump endorsement.
In 2020, Mr. Jones swore himself to be a duly elected and qualified elector for Mr. Trump after President Biden was declared the winner in the state.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is among the Republicans running for the party’s nomination.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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