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By Reuters 
18h ago
Nathan layne
Cuthbert, Georgia – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he was only following the law when he rejected claims by fellow Republican Donald Trump that the president’s electoral defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
Trump brought the 65-year-old former businessman back to the limelight when he called Raffensperger on Saturday to goad him to “find” enough votes to reverse Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, according to audio of the call released by Washington. Post on Sunday.
As Georgia’s top election official, Raffensperger oversaw multiple recounts of the Nov.3 ballots, each of which achieved the same result: that the southern state had narrowly favored a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in a generation.
Faced with Trump’s unsubstantiated claims, Raffensperger echoed the findings of his counterparts across the United States that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Interviewed Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Raffensperger said the White House had pressured him against his good judgment to make Trump’s decision.
“Did you consider it a legal request when the president asked you to seek the votes?” Raffensperger was asked.
“I am not a lawyer. All I know is that we are going to follow the law, follow the process. The truth matters, and we have been fighting these rumors for the last two months,” he replied.
Having rejected Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud for weeks, he told Trump on Saturday’s call that the vote showed Biden was the rightful winner.
“Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is that the data you have is wrong,” Raffensperger could be heard telling Trump in the recording of Saturday’s call.
The White House declined to comment.
Raffensperger and his colleagues had warned for weeks that Trump’s rhetoric endangered them.
“Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone will get hurt, someone will be shot, someone will die,” said Gabriel Sterling, manager of the state’s voting systems, at an emotional press conference. December 1. .
Noting that Raffensperger’s wife had received sexualized threats, he added: “Everything has gone too far. It has to stop.”
It was unclear if the state had taken security measures around Raffensperger after the threats emerged.
After years as a civil engineer and successful businessman, Raffensperger served two years on a city council and four years in the Georgia House of Representatives before succeeding Kemp in 2018 as top elections official.
Raffensperger’s acquaintances in the House of Representatives described him as a “sniper” who backed traditional Republican priorities, supporting a bill to cut regulations on small businesses, for example, and voting against a gasoline tax. , according to a profile in the Atlanta Journal. -Constitution.
A longtime Republican, Raffensperger was an early Trump supporter in 2016, and the president returned the favor by endorsing him for secretary of state. But the goodwill that existed between the two men has since disappeared.
“Brad Raffensperger: He’s not a liberal. Like he’s not a hero of mine,” Hillary Rosen, a Democratic strategist, said on CNN. “He’s a solid conservative Republican taking on the president. That’s what makes him so significant.”
Trump’s relentless attacks since the Nov.3 election included an accusation that Raffensperger concealed tens of thousands of illegal votes, securing Biden’s victory. Georgia’s incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have called on Raffensperger to resign.
Perdue and Loeffler themselves are locked in tight campaigns ahead of Tuesday’s runoff elections that will determine which party controls the US Senate.
Raffensperger has come under fire for establishing the party across the state for not giving in to Trump’s will.
Ronald Ham, the GOP leader in rural Brantley County, said Raffensperger should take Trump’s allegations of voter fraud more seriously. He said that there were discussions among some party leaders about his removal.
“I’ve been overly critical of Brad, but where there is so much smoke I’d like to check,” Ham said. “He’s a good guy, but he won’t survive re-election if he goes that far.”
Raffensperger told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in late November that he and his wife of 44 years had relied on their faith to cope with the pressure.
“We are simple people, simple people,” Raffensperger said. “We are quiet people in a restless role.”
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