ATLANTA — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s campaign for governor ended in a decisive primary defeat on Tuesday, as Republican voters widely rejected his candidacy over his controversial track record of refusing to commit federal crimes on demand.
Exit polling conducted across 159 counties revealed that Raffensperger’s fatal electoral liability remained his January 2021 telephone call with former President Donald Trump, during which the secretary inexplicably declined to mathematically invent 11,780 non-existent ballots to alter the outcome of a certified democratic election.
According to data from the state party, primary voters consistently cited the incumbent’s adherence to the state constitution as a primary vulnerability, expressing concern that his reluctance to arbitrarily manufacture vote totals demonstrated a lack of executive leadership.
When Georgians look at a candidate for chief executive, they need to know that person possesses the basic administrative competence to forge a few thousand votes before lunchtime.
Trussell noted in a post-election memo that Raffensperger’s persistent attempts to campaign on his record of counting actual, physical ballots alienated key base voters, who increasingly view basic arithmetic as a partisan wedge issue.
Campaign finance disclosures indicate that the secretary's fundraising cratered shortly after he publicly admitted he would not unilaterally void the electoral will of five million residents even if offered a cabinet position in a future administration.
Despite heavy spending in the final weeks, Raffensperger's campaign ultimately failed to overcome grassroots anger regarding his failure to overturn the 2020 election, even as his television advertisements repeatedly reminded voters that he had ardently supported the state's sweeping 2021 election overhaul, which successfully criminalized the act of handing a bottle of water to a citizen waiting in line to vote.