Republican Brad Raffensperger to Run for Georgia Governor in 2026

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state who refused Donald Trump’s demand to overturn the 2020 election results, announced Wednesday that he is entering the 2026 governor’s race.

Raffensperger, a wealthy engineering entrepreneur turned public official, said he will run on a “bold conservative agenda” while continuing to stress his record of following the law and defending the Constitution.

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

A Republican field divided

His entry heightens an already contentious Republican primary. Trump has endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who served as a “fake elector” in the former president’s failed 2020 effort to stay in power. Attorney General Chris Carr is also running, having sided with Raffensperger against Trump’s election challenges. Other Republicans include Clark Dean, Scott Ellison, and Gregg Kirkpatrick.

Raffensperger faces a unique obstacle: the Georgia GOP voted in June to bar him from qualifying as a Republican candidate, though legal experts and party leaders acknowledge that ban may not hold.

On the Democratic side, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, and former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond are among the leading contenders. Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, another Republican-turned-Trump critic, entered the race this week as a Democrat.

Conservative platform, Trump-era baggage

Raffensperger is pitching himself as a proven conservative with policy goals such as eliminating the state income tax, capping property taxes for seniors, banning puberty-blocking drugs for minors, and rooting out what he calls “woke curriculums” in schools. He also pledges to expand jobs, deport immigrants with criminal records, and “restore law and order.”

Despite the tough talk, Raffensperger’s national profile comes largely from defying Trump. In January 2021, Trump pressured him in a now-infamous phone call to “find 11,780 votes” — enough to reverse Joe Biden’s narrow win in Georgia. Raffensperger refused, insisting the election was fair, and endured death threats, protests, and political attacks.

His stance made him a target of Trump’s loyalists but helped secure bipartisan respect. He won reelection in 2022 despite Trump backing a primary challenger.

A familiar name with personal wealth

At 70, Raffensperger enters the race later than his rivals but brings advantages: statewide name recognition and the ability to self-fund after selling his concrete reinforcement company, Tendon Systems, in 2023.

Before becoming secretary of state, Raffensperger was a conservative state legislator who opposed abortion and supported tax cuts. He emphasized managerial efficiency in his 2018 campaign and authored a 2021 book, Integrity Counts, detailing the threats and pressure he faced after the 2020 election.

Raffensperger now hopes to parlay his reputation as both a conservative stalwart and a defender of democratic norms into a gubernatorial victory. Whether Republican primary voters — many still aligned with Trump — are willing to embrace him remains the central question of his campaign.