On Tuesday, Rafansberger defeated his Trump-backed opponent, U.S. Rep. Jodie Hayes, by nearly 19 points. Points. He did it by closing it The gap between Republican voters attracted Democrats who celebrated his decision to uphold the law, with four candidates garnering 52 percent of the vote and even his allies avoiding the run he had predicted a few days earlier.
Raffensperger, 67, won in part Loving Trump’s base With promises of Strict election security. But he succeeded in 2020 without trying to hide from his role: Simply put, he is a structural engineer who denies anyone who hears Trump’s false claims about election fraud.
His victory on Tuesday gave him the courage to issue a more direct condemnation of the former president.
“The majority of Georgians see themselves as honest for their chosen position,” he told cameras at his election dinner in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta late Tuesday. “Someone who does their job follows the law and takes care of them regardless of personal expenses.”
He added: “People want to stand up for you, stand up for the rule of law and electoral honesty, stand up for the truth and not succumb to pressure.”
His main enemy, Hice did not hold a public event on Tuesday or offer a public offer.
Trump, in a statement on social media site Truth Social, blew the wins for his preferred candidates in Senate contests in Arkansas, Alabama, Texas and Georgia. The former president has avoided any reference to Rafensberger or Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who opposed Trump’s 2020 pressure.
According to those in Trump’s orbit, defeating Rafenberger and Kembe became an obsession for the former president, which was often shown behind closed doors in public and closed. But on Tuesday, Kemp won by a surprising 52 points against Trump-backed former senator David Bertou.
Rafenzberger’s path to rescuing Republican primary voters began about a year ago, when he received a rare invitation to speak from a local Republican leader in Ben Hill County, about three hours south of Atlanta. Trump won the county in 2020 with 63 percent of the vote.
More than 100 Georgians gathered at the Grand Theater in Fitzgerald, the county seat. Rafenzberger later learned that some people drove for hours to hear him speak – not because they were fans, but because they believed he had failed to expose the fraud that Trump had falsely claimed to have triggered Biden’s victory.
He said they had no facts that night. “Simply put, what happened in 2020 was that 28,000 Georgians skipped the presidential race.” When voting in races, the lower the ballot, He recalled telling the crowd in a speech that he would be healed again next year. “You have to share the facts and then they have to understand that I have the facts.”
Raffensperger loads 40,000 miles on his Ford F-150 pickup truck and travels across the state talking to anyone who hears it. Earlier this month, he traveled to Savannah for about four hours for a Rotary lunch – and stayed for a meeting and greeting throughout the afternoon. A dozen members of the local Jaycees.
Miles paid off: Rafenzberger made huge profits in metro Atlanta, but he took his own place across the state. He defeated Heise more 20 points in the congressional district of pro-Trump firefighter Marjorie Taylor Green. Hayes had some of his biggest victories in his home congressional district, but the numbers did not affect the difference as they were very low.
“This is a re-entry into the ages and a testament to an officer who accepts every call from any group in the state or media organization and tells his story,” said Brian Robinson, a Georgia-based Republican strategist. Secretary of State’s Office but he was not involved in any campaigns.
Even in Ben Hill County, last year all Trump supporters gathered to demand answers from Rafensberger, who received 50 percent of the vote. GOP leader Austin Futch, who invited Raffensperger to speak, was surprised – he lost his leadership.
“Until this morning I would not have dared to tell anyone that I supported Rafenberger,” Futch, a real estate company, said Wednesday. “But yes, I feel I have a good reason to say that now. There should be a referendum on Donald Trump in Georgia and he should stay away from Georgia. Donald Trump lost in 2020. He should accept that fact.
In the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, Rafenberger and his top aides received death threats from Trump supporters. His wife, Tricia, posted obscene text messages. Someone broke into his daughter-in-law’s house. At a party Tuesday at a cozy suburban restaurant, two off-duty Quinn County police officers stood in the doorway, precautionarily hired by Rafensberger.
Those threats further strengthened his decision to defend the election results, Rafenberger said. He brought a consistency to his predicament of designing and cultivating high-rise decks and bridges and box tension post-decades, but this reflects a very bad experience four years ago – his eldest son died from an overdose of fentanyl.
“I understand what I can and cannot change,” Rafenburger said. “All of these people have spread their deception and misinformation, but it is not supported by facts.”
Provided by Raffensperger and Kemp Map for other Republicans Trump’s denial is not seen anywhere else in the country. Both officers are long-time Republicans, have served in the legislature and have extensive records supporting conservative causes. They are well known in Georgia and they came up with the name recognition and the ability to raise millions of dollars for this year’s election. Rafensberger, who founded a profitable engineering firm, poured in some of his own funds.
In an interview on Tuesday night, Rafenberger said he had prepared four different ideas for the evening: one if he wins, one if he loses, one, a runoff if he takes first place, and a runoff if he’s high. He was not hopeless, he said – just practical. He puts the victory text in his left lap pocket and can retrieve it alone and very easily.
He still does not know which Democrat he will face in the fall because that primary is heading towards a runoff. Democrats have accused Rafenzberger of aiding and abetting electoral conspiracies by backing a drastic new voting law last year and trying to reduce non-citizen voting.
Bee Nguyen, the Democrat’s state legislator and leading candidate, campaigned heavily on the idea that democracy is on the ballot in November. But that message would be more complicated against Rafenzberger than it was against Heis, who boasted that Pitton would not testify to Georgia’s victory.
Rafensberger said his message for the general election was unlikely to change. He also gave a glimpse of the next ambition that seemed to be unattainable a few months ago to run for governor of Georgia. “My runway is narrow,” he joked, recently celebrating his 67th birthday.
“What I have found is that every Georgian wants to have a safe, secure election, with the right balance of access to security,” he said. “This is where Georgia will vote today.”
Lenny Bronner in Washington contributed to this report.
