Key Takeaways
- Brad Raffensperger aims to follow Brian Kemp’s path to the governor’s office by addressing jobs, taxes, and immigration.
- He faces a challenge in the 2026 GOP primary against Trump-backed candidates like Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
- Raffensperger focuses on key issues such as education, safety, and purging ‘woke’ curricula to appeal to conservative voters.
- Democratic challengers include Jason Esteves, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Geoff Duncan, who recently switched parties.
- Raffensperger seeks to build on Kemp’s legacy while navigating tensions with Trump’s influence in Republican politics.
Brad Raffensperger wants to follow the trail of Brian Kemp, who used his title as Georgia secretary of state to launch into the governor’s office.
Raffensperger joined the field of Republican contenders Wednesday, on a platform that includes more jobs, less taxation, immigration controls and other traditional GOP hallmarks, including guns, God and — these days — opposition to anything “woke.”
Like Kemp, he is focusing on voters who work hard for their money.
“Hardworking Georgians are struggling to put food on the table,” Raffensperger said. “Parents worry about their kids being indoctrinated in the classroom. Too many families live in fear of gangs, cartels, and violent criminals.”
Raffensperger earned the enmity of President Donald Trump by contradicting his claim that Georgia’s 2020 election results were inaccurate. Now, he must now try to win the 2026 GOP primary election against a Trump-backed candidate.
Trump has endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was already running against state Attorney General Chris Carr for the GOP nomination.
Jones is a longtime ally of Trump, whose voting base is driving state Republican politics. Their influence is so strong that they got the state Republican Party to adopt a resolution in June to bar Raffensperger from running as a Republican, though the party chief doubted it was legally enforceable.
Should Raffensperger win the GOP nomination, he will face the survivor of an increasingly crowded primary for Democrats.
There are standard Democrats in the field: Jason Esteves, who resigned from his Atlanta-based state Senate seat last week to focus on his campaign; former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; and Michael Thurmond, who has been elected statewide as labor commissioner, has served in the General Assembly, and recently ended his second four-year term as the elected CEO of DeKalb County.
And there is now an unusual contender who will be appealing to Democratic voters: Geoff Duncan, Jones’ predecessor in the lieutenant governor’s office.
Duncan was a Republican when he led the Senate in that role, but — equally reviled by the Republican Party due to his clashes with Trump over the 2020 election — he recently switched parties. Duncan entered the race for governor Tuesday as a Democrat with an anti-Trump platform, calling Trump’s attacks “a badge of honor.”
Raffensperger, a businessman who rose to state office after serving on the Johns Creek City Council and then in the Georgia House of Representatives, is not only following Kemp’s path but also his strategies.
Kemp has clashed with Trump, too, but has managed to remain popular with Republicans.
Raffensperger said he wants to build on Kemp’s legacy by taking on the radical left, “woke” corporate America, and criminal immigrants.
Raffensperger also vowed to eliminate special interest tax breaks while at the same time seeking to incentivize companies that are reshoring long-term jobs in Georgia and in poor areas.
In an appeal to Trump’s base, he also said he wants to purge “woke” school curriculum, protect girls from transgender athletes while banning puberty blockers and transition surgeries, fortify schools with more safety grants — and work alongside Trump and congressional leaders on the economy, immigration and policing.
Raffensperger has tried to recover from his clash with Trump over his own handling of the 2020 election, with reassuring messages about security. He has routinely purged inactive voters and offered audits of the accuracy of election outcomes.
His departure from the secretary of state’s office was telegraphed earlier this month, when his former lieutenant, Gabriel Sterling, joined the campaign to succeed Raffensperger. Sterling promised that Georgia’s elections are safe and that he would keep it that way.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a journalist with over 20 years experience.
