Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said this past weekend that he expects to perform well within the Peach State as he seeks reelection.
But his campaign staff remained mum Monday when asked whether supporters of Donald Trump will overlook his and staff members’ past actions against the former president.
Raffensperger told The Washington Examiner Saturday that having the truth on his side regarding the election will help him with voters.
“At the end of the day, you just continue to speak the truth and you continue to show numbers,” the website quoted Raffensperger as saying.
“You continue to get your message out with the truth, and then you find out that everything that he [Trump] based it on was not based on fact — it was based on unsound reasoning and an awful lot of emotion.”
The Georgia Star News contacted Raffensperger’s campaign Monday, at an email address provided via his campaign website.
We asked if Raffensperger believes Trump voters will forgive him for one of his staff members anonymously sourcing a Washington Post story designed to put Trump in a negative light — a story that people now discredit.
We also asked if he thinks Trump voters can overlook him accepting $5.6 million from the Mark Zukerberg-funded Center for Election Innovation and Research to assist with last year’s election? This, even though Zuckerberg had a clear personal and political bias against Trump?
What are his strategies to overcome any potential resentment among members of Trump’s base?
The Star News also asked why officials at the state and county level in Georgia have failed to produce chain of custody records for more than 333,000 absentee vote-by-mail ballots deposited in drop boxes located around the state for that election.
Members of Raffensperger’s staff did not return our request for comment before Monday’s stated deadline.
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA-10) announced in March that he wants to replace Raffensperger and will run for Raffensperger’s seat next year.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, in a written statement, promptly endorsed Hice’s candidacy.
Hice, in a statement on his campaign’s website, said “free and fair elections are the foundation of our country.”
“What Brad Raffensperger did was create cracks in the integrity of our elections, which I wholeheartedly believe individuals took advantage of in 2020. Though I am encouraged to see the General Assembly taking it upon themselves to address some of the glaring issues in our elections, Georgia deserves a secretary of state who will own the responsibilities of the office. If elected, I will instill confidence in our election process by upholding the Georgia Constitution, enforcing meaningful reform, and aggressively pursue those who commit voter fraud,” Hice said.
“Every Georgian, in fact, every American, has the right to be outraged by the actions and, simultaneously, the inaction of our secretary of state. Our state deserves a leader who steers clear of scandals and focuses on the incredibly important duties of the office. If elected, my top priority will be ensuring every Georgian’s legally cast ballot is counted in future elections. I am excited about our campaign and I know together we can renew integrity!”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
