Raffenspergers' approach to politics is being closely monitored by both inside and outside Republicans.
Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State for Georgia, speaks at a news conference in Atlanta on November 11, 2020. | Brynn Anderson/AP Photo
According to Lynn Westmoreland, a former Republican Rep. from Georgia, 87 percent felt that the election was rigged. These numbers are so high, Brad is unlikely to make it through the primary.
Raffensperger may not be Trump's most hated GOP member, but he is close. Trump refused to change the state's vote count. Raffensperger also feuded over Trumps false claims of voter fraud. Raffenspergers recorded Trump at one point trying to convince the secretary of state to find votes for him to win, a possible crime that Trump is now being investigated by local prosecutors.
Trump has been shaming Raffensperger for almost a year. He even called Raffensperger an enemy.
Trump's obsession with Raffensperger is not showing any signs of abating. In July, Trump wrote to Raffensperger asking him to decertify the results for 2020. Two weeks ago, Trump called Raffensperger strange and incompetent at a Georgia rally.
Trump immediately supported Jody Hice, a staunch Trump ally who announced earlier this year that he would challenge Raffensperger in primary.
Trump also invited Hice to make brief remarks at September's rally, where he also trashed Gov. Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor. Geoff Duncan, state Attorney General Chris Carr were all Republicans who rejected Trump's requests to reverse the election results.
Donald Trump's critic Duncan decided not to run for another term, instead he wrote a book on the future of the party. Kemp and Carr, along with Raffensperger are running for reelection next spring. However, they have mostly ignored Trump's criticisms.
Raffensperger took a different approach.
Trump mock-endorsed Democrat Stacey Abrams at his rally. She is expected to run her second campaign for Georgia governor. Raffensperger wrote an USA Today op-ed comparing Trump and Abrams.
Simon & Schuster describes Integrity Counts as Raffenspergers' inspiring story of dedication to American democracy.
We were out there to set the record straight. No. Raffensperger stated that Trump didn't carry Georgia. He cited multiple reviews, recounts and investigations that proved the accuracy of the Georgia results.
Seth Bringman (a spokesperson for Abrams) attacked Raffensperger for comparing her 2018 defeat to Trumps. He claimed that Abrams won in court to count more Georgian votes. With reputable lawyers presenting coherent arguments, the courts accepted and counted those votes. We are surprised that Raffensperger equates the counting of eligible votes based upon fact with the throwing out of the will to the people based the Big Lie.
Bringman stated that Raffenspergers' op-ed amounts to attacking Stacey, pushing election subversion, and is a sad attempt at winning the votes of his insurrectionist wing during the primary.
Raffenspergers frontal attack on Trump is widely seen as a doomed strategy, in a state where Trump controls the GOP and majorities believe that the 2020 election was stolen. A January poll found that only 45 percent of Republicans support the secretary-state.
This survey was conducted just days after Republican incumbents lost two U.S. Senate race runoff elections on Jan. 5. After Trump's loss of Georgia in November, both senators called Raffensperger to resign.
Westmoreland spoke out against Raffenspergers' confrontational approach to Trump. Republican voters believe the election was stolen. However, Westmoreland said that many Republicans are troubled by Trump's rally comment that Abrams would be better than your current governor.
Raffensperger acknowledged the challenges he will face going forward but said that he cannot help but speak out. He did not fault Kemp and Carr for not denouncing Trump's attempts to overturn the election.
Raffensperger stated that it is a difficult problem to know how to react to Trump's statements when they are too extreme or pejorative. It would shock most Republicans if the former president endorsed Stacey Abrams. I would be shocked if the former president has endorsed Stacey Abrams.
Raffensperger stated that he believes that voters will reward him for running an honest race. They also understand that I'll have to make difficult, difficult decisions about standing up. It's not easy to keep your integrity. It might not be easy. It may not be fun. But, the decision was simple because it was based upon the law, the Constitution and the truth.
Trump is expected back to the state in the near future, before the 2022 primaries. He will undoubtedly trash Raffensperger once again. Raffensperger stated that he is comfortable continuing to fight against Trump when the need arises.
He said that he believes it is important to tell the truth. Respect is a virtue.
