Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger doesn’t regret standing up to former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
But don’t ask the bespectacled 65-year-old former civil engineer to give out a list of state Republicans he counts as friends as he gears up for reelection next year against a Trump-endorsed primary opponent.
“I wouldn’t ‘out them’ right now,” Raffensperger told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview, “but we have lots of friends who are reasonable and rationale Ronald Reagan-type Republicans.”
Raffensperger’s hesitancy to name his closest allies shouldn’t be surprising; he knows better than most about what getting on Trump’s bad side can bring.
As recently as last week, the former president targeted Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp as “RINOs” – Republicans in Name Only. Around the same time as Trump’s latest missive, Raffensperger noted his wife received a new round of death threats via text message.
For Republicans trying to unite the state party after a round of Democratic victories in the presidential election and two pivotal Senate runoffs , a civil war against top state GOP leaders, led by Trump and his supporters, is seen as an unnecessary distraction. Many party officials would rather spend time rallying against Democratic opponents of a new election law, which has again thrust Georgia into an unflattering national spotlight.
President Trump pressures Ga. Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger on…
