Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who defied President Donald Trump’s calls to help overturn the 2020 presidential election results in his state, on Wednesday announced he’ll run for governor of Georgia in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a conservative Republican, and I\u2019m prepared to make the tough decisions. I follow the law and the Constitution, and I\u2019ll always do the right thing for Georgia no matter what,\u201d Raffensperger said in an announcement video.<\/p>\n
The secretary of state will likely face an uphill battle to receive party support as he still draws ire from Trump\u2019s MAGA base for refusing to follow the president\u2019s orders<\/a> to \u201cfind\u201d the votes necessary to overturn the presidential election in 2020.<\/p>\n In his announcement, Raffensperger highlighted his experience as a \u201csuccessful entrepreneur\u201d to bolster his \u201cbusiness plan for Georgia\u2019s future\u201d \u2014 which he vowed would increase affordability and boost job creation in the state.<\/p>\n The secretary of state also touted his conservative values, boasting that he had taken on \u2014 and won \u2014 battles with Democrats like Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden, and promising a \u201cbold conservative agenda\u201d rooted in Republican priorities like parental choice in schools and banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors.<\/p>\n Raffensperger\u2019s entry into the race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp sets up a potentially competitive contest, as state Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones are also vying for the GOP\u2019s nomination. Jones clinched Trump\u2019s endorsement<\/a> earlier last month.<\/p>\n Democrats were already playing up the \u201cchaos\u201d of the Republican primary on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cBrad Raffensperger\u2019s campaign launch injects a new level of chaos into what was already a messy primary \u2014 and is bad news for Burt Jones and Chris Carr,\u201d Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said in a statement, adding that the three Republican candidates were likely to be \u201clocked into a vicious primary.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Howard contributed to this report.<\/p>\n