Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary next Tuesday is testing whether Brad Raffensperger can outlast the political identity he built after defying Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential victory in 2020. The former secretary of state, now 70, has drawn attention in the campaign spotlight as much for the backlash he earned within the GOP as for his record of administering elections. On Tuesday, in the Atlanta suburb of Chamblee, he joked as signs with his name went up ahead of a speech, “I think most people by now know who I am.”
Raffensperger’s current message seeks to separate his past election-related role from the broader loyalty dispute that put him at odds with Trump-aligned Republicans. The story of his rise—opposing what Republicans around Trump called election falsehoods—remains central to how many in the party remember him, even though he won reelection in 2022. Now, he is spending millions of his own money trying to “reintroduce” himself to voters as the person he was before that moment, campaign material and remarks suggest.
In recent comments to reporters, Raffensperger said, “I really think I need to let people know that I’m actually a conservative Christian businessman,” adding, “If you don’t realize, that’s where I cut my teeth.” The campaign also faces a challenge of threats and security concerns, which officials said were tied to the broader hostility that followed his 2020 conduct. Spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said Raffensperger was informed of a credible threat Monday as he began flying around the state on a campaign swing.
Mahoney said a sheriff’s office in Mississippi received a four-page document including a picture of Raffensperger with the word “boom” written across his forehead, and that law enforcement agencies did not immediately acknowledge an investigation. When authorities swept the Macon airport ahead of Raffensperger’s Tuesday arrival, a police dog found a suspicious object and prompted an evacuation; Mahoney said it was not a bomb, and Raffensperger gave his speech on the tarmac.
The campaign’s effort to reframe Raffensperger as an alternative choice is unfolding amid a crowded field and a high-stakes fight over who can claim the most conservative label. The AP reported that Raffensperger likely has a narrow shot at the nomination, and that even if he qualifies for a June 16 runoff, the campaign could turn into a more intense battle over which candidate is the most conservative—an environment in which he says he would face additional attacks over disloyalty to Trump.
Raffensperger’s party standing has complicated his path to voters. The Georgia Republican Party delegates voted in June to ban Raffensperger from running under the party’s banner, saying he was hostile to Trump, but he qualified anyway. A judge last month dismissed an effort by two voters to throw him off the primary ballot. His campaign estimates that a fifth of the state’s Republican electorate would never vote for him, describing them as “never-Raffensperger,” and a voter who attended a Jones campaign appearance Tuesday in Smyrna, Sabrina Mao of Cobb County, said, “Everybody knows there is fraud in voting,” adding that she did not believe Raffensperger was “doing anything good.”
The campaign contrasts his profile with that of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson, who are spending large sums in the primary and attacking each other. The AP reported that Jones and Jackson have positioned their spending and advertising against each other in ways that Raffensperger says distract from core state issues. Raffensperger’s advertising includes a depiction of Jones and Jackson firing guns wildly into the air while he takes careful aim at targets one by one, and another depiction describing “creepy Rick Jackson” and “big baby Burt Jones” throwing mud at one another.
Raffensperger told reporters Tuesday, “All they have been talking about is each other and running each other down,” and said, “No one’s talking about the most important person. And that’s our fellow Georgian.” He has tried to pivot quickly to themes of job creation, cutting property taxes, enhancing school safety, and supporting Trump’s efforts to increase manufacturing jobs, while also maintaining that he stands behind how Georgia’s elections are run.
Campaign finances underscore the uphill comparison. The AP reported that Raffensperger sold his concrete reinforcement company, Tendon Systems, for an undisclosed amount in 2023, loaned his campaign $6 million through last week, and spent or committed at least $4.2 million on ads. By contrast, the AP reported that Jones loaned his campaign $17 million and that Jackson put $83 million into his bid. Besides Jones and Jackson, Raffensperger is also running against Republican Attorney General Chris Carr, who the AP reported appeals to many voters attracted to similar themes.
Raffensperger also faces political challenges tied to his relationship with Jones, including Jones’s role among 16 Georgia Republican electors who declared themselves “duly elected and qualified” in 2020 despite Biden winning the state. On Tuesday, Jones campaign manager Kendyl Parker demanded that television stations take down a Raffensperger ad that the campaign said mentions Abrams and Biden and portrays Raffensperger as challenging election administration credibility.
On the Democratic side of the governor race, the AP reported that top candidates include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves and former state Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond, with Geoff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor, also running as a Democrat. In suburban areas that swung in the past between Republicans and Democrats, Raffensperger said he needs voters who backed conservatives but have been leery of Trump. Katherine Weber of suburban Sandy Springs, for example, said after casting her ballot last month, “I voted for Brad Raffensperger,” and added, “I feel like he is a man of integrity and not swayed by politics. He doesn’t do whatever Trump says.”