Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced a run for governor on Wednesday, setting up an internal party clash against a Trump-endorsed candidate in the contested primary.
Raffensperger earned President Donald Trump’s ire following the 2020 presidential election for refusing to contest the election results in his state. Republican Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones is vying for the Republican nomination to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Brian Kemp with Trump’s endorsement. (RELATED: GOP Chairman Thinks His Party Has What It Takes To Beat The Purple Out Of Georgia)
“I’m a conservative Republican, and I’m prepared to make the tough decisions,” Raffensperger says in his campaign announcement video. “I follow the law and the Constitution, and I’ll always do the right thing for Georgia no matter what.”
Raffensperger is expected to face long odds to secure the Republican nomination due to widespread opposition among state party delegates to the former Trump foe. The Georgia GOP state party approved a resolution at its convention in June labeling Raffensperger as “repugnant to its brand” and not able to run as a Republican for any elected office in the state.
Raffensperger won reelection as Secretary of State in 2022, despite Trump backing his Republican primary opponent, former Georgia Rep. Jody Hice. Raffensperger beat Hice by 19 percentage points in the GOP primary, avoiding a runoff, and went on to win the general election defeating Democratic Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen by nine points.
Trump endorsed Jones’ gubernatorial campaign in August, calling the lieutenant governor a “WARRIOR” and touted his business acumen, in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.
PEACHTREE CITY, GEORGIA – AUGUST 21: Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump at an event hosted by Vice President JD Vance on August 21, 2025 in Peachtree City, Georgia. Vance will be promoting the benefits of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Republican Georgia State Attorney General Chris Carr is also running for the open governor’s seat.
Several Democratic candidates are lining up to flip the Peach State blue. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Republican Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan are among several candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the 2026 contest as “Toss-up” and is expected to be one of the most competitive gubernatorial races of the midterms. Trump won Georgia by two percentage points over former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats have characterized the crowded Republican primary as detrimental to the nominee who will advance to the general election.
“Brad Raffensperger’s campaign launch injects a new level of chaos into what was already a messy primary — and is bad news for Burt Jones and Chris Carr,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said in a statement obtained by Politico.
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