GOP Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger launches campaign for governor

Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday launched his campaign to run for governor.

“I’m a conservative Republican, and I’m prepared to make the tough decisions. I follow the law and the Constitution, and I’ll always do the right thing for Georgia no matter what,” Raffensperger said in his campaign launch video.

Raffensperger promises a “bold conservative agenda,” including eliminating the state income tax, capping property taxes for seniors, banning puberty-blocking drugs, and purging “woke curriculums” from schools. He also pledges to work with Trump to increase jobs, deport illegal immigrants with criminal records, and “restore law and order,” the according to the Associated Press.

The secretary of state won reelection in 2022 despite President Trump endorsing his primary challenger, Rep. Jody Hice, who, unlike the secretary of state, objected to Georgia's electoral votes being counted for President Biden.

In June, the Georgia GOP voted to ban Raffensperger from running under their party's banner, but the party chairman said that attempt might not go anywhere.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, state Attorney General Chris Carr, Clark Dean, Scott Ellison, and Gregg Kirkpatrick are all running in the 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary election. Jones was a Trump alternate elector in 2020 and received the president's endorsement last month, while Carr joined Raffensperger in rejecting challenges to the 2020 election results.

The top Democrats running in their party's gubernatorial primary election are former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves, and former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. Geoff Duncan, who also sided with Raffensperger over the 2020 election results as the Republican lieutenant governor, launched his campaign for governor on Tuesday as a Democrat.