Brad Raffensperger wins GOP primary for Georgia secretary of state, in another rebuke to Trump
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) fended off a primary challenge from Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) on Tuesday, unexpectedly drawing enough votes to avoid a runoff election. Former President Donald Trump had recruited Hice from a safe Republican seat to challenge Raffensperger, who drew Trump's ire after the 2020 election for refusing to support his false claim that the election was stolen. In one recorded phone call, Trump urged Raffensperger to "find" just enough votes to let him overtake President Biden in the state.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R) scored an easy victory over former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), the Trump-recruited challenger who made Trump's "Big Lie" about a stolen election the centerpiece of his campaign. "And several down-ticket candidates endorsed by Trump because they clung to his lies about widespread election fraud sputtered against statewide incumbents closely tied to the governor," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The former president "has obsessively worked to defeat Republicans who did not work to overturn his 2020 election loss, endorsing and sometimes recruiting their primary challengers," so "Tuesday's results in Georgia amounted to a significant blow to Trump" and his "reputation as GOP kingmaker," The Washington Post reports. "Some powerful Republicans saw the Georgia primary as a potential inflection point that could shift the party away from re-litigating the last election and blunt Trump's efforts to turn many primaries into score-settling affairs over 2020."
Former Gov. Chris Christe (R-N.J.), who endorsed Kemp along with former Vice President Mike Pence and other top Republicans, congratulated Georgia on refusing "to kick out a great governor or be willing participants in the DJT Vendetta Tour."
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Best UK fashion exhibitions in 2026The Week Recommends See much-loved and intriguing items from designers and style icons right where they belong: on display
-
Rock Villa, Bequia: a hidden villa on an island epitomising Caribbean blissThe Week Recommends This gorgeous property is the perfect setting to do absolutely nothing – and that’s the best part
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and Europe
In the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
Gabbard faces questions on vote raid, secret complaintSpeed Read This comes as Trump has pushed Republicans to ‘take over’ voting
-
Greenland: The lasting damage of Trump’s tantrumFeature His desire for Greenland has seemingly faded away
-
The price of forgivenessFeature Trump’s unprecedented use of pardons has turned clemency into a big business.
-
Will Peter Mandelson and Andrew testify to US Congress?Today's Big Question Could political pressure overcome legal obstacles and force either man to give evidence over their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?
