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CUTHBERT, Georgia: Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger solidified his status as an unlikely hero to American Democrats after a new showdown in which he rejected President Donald Trump’s claims that his 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 from the hour-long call. published by the Washington Post on Sunday (December 3).
As Georgia’s top election official, Raffensperger oversaw multiple counts of the November 3 ballot, 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.
He has vowed to fight any future electoral fraud, even as he echoed the findings of his counterparts across the United States that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in November.
He has also repeatedly rejected Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud, even after the president called him an “enemy of the people.” He did it again on Saturday’s call and told Trump that the vote showed that 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.
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The White House declined to comment.
But he and his colleagues have been warning for weeks that Trump’s rhetoric put them and their colleagues in danger.
“Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to be hurt, someone is going to be shot, someone is going to die, ”Gabriel Sterling, manager of the state’s voting systems, said at an emotional press conference on 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. His office and that of Governor Brian Kemp did not respond to requests for comment.
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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.
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Brad Raffensperger: He is not a liberal. Like he’s not a hero of mine, ”Hillary Rosen, a Democratic strategist, told CNN. “He is a solid conservative Republican facing the president. That’s what makes it 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 a little too 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.”
