{"id":106999,"date":"2021-01-04T01:07:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T01:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=106999"},"modified":"2021-01-04T01:07:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T01:07:42","slug":"georgia-election-guardian-raffensperger-faces-heat-as-trump-contests-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/georgia-election-guardian-raffensperger-faces-heat-as-trump-contests-defeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia election guardian Raffensperger faces heat as Trump contests defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

CUTHBERT, Ga. (Reuters) -Georgia\u2019s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, cemented his status as an unlikely hero for U.S. Democrats following a fresh clash in which he rejected President Donald Trump\u2019s claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger gives an update on the state of the election and ballot count during a news conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., November 6, 2020. REUTERS\/Dustin Chambers<\/figcaption>

Trump returned the 65-year-old former businessman to the limelight when he called Raffensperger on Saturday to badger him to \u201cfind\u201d enough votes to reverse Democratic President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s victory in the state, according to audio of the hour-long call published by the Washington Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n

As Georgia\u2019s top election official, Raffensperger oversaw multiple recounts of the Nov. 3 ballots, each of which reached the same result – that the southern state had narrowly favored a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in a generation.<\/p>\n

He has vowed to fight any future election fraud even as he echoed the findings of his counterparts across the United States that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in November.<\/p>\n

He has also repeatedly pushed back against Trump\u2019s unfounded claims of fraud, even after the president labeled him an \u201cenemy of the people.\u201d He did so again on Saturday\u2019s call, telling Trump the vote showed Biden was the rightful winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong,\u201d Raffensperger could be heard telling Trump on the recording of Saturday\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

The White House declined to comment.<\/p>\n

But he and his colleagues for weeks have been warning that Trump\u2019s rhetoric placed them and their colleagues in danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone\u2019s going to get hurt, someone\u2019s going to get shot, someone\u2019s going to get killed,\u201d Gabriel Sterling, the manager of the state\u2019s voting systems, said at an emotional Dec. 1 press conference.<\/p>\n

Noting Raffensperger\u2019s wife had been getting sexualized threats, he added, \u201cIt has all gone too far. It has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was unclear if the state had taken security measures around Raffensperger after the threats emerged. His office and that of Governor Brian Kemp did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

REPUTATION AS \u2018STRAIGHT SHOOTER\u2019<\/p>\n

After years as a civil engineer and successful businessman, Raffensperger served two years on a city council and four years in Georgia\u2019s House of Representatives before succeeding Kemp in 2018 as the top election official.<\/p>\n

Acquaintances of Raffensperger in the state House described him as a \u201cstraight shooter\u201d who backed traditional Republican priorities, supporting a bill to cut regulations on small businesses, for example, and voting against a tax on gasoline, according to a profile in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.<\/p>\n

A lifelong Republican, Raffensperger was an early supporter of Trump in 2016, and the president returned the favor by endorsing him for secretary of state. But whatever goodwill existed between the two men has since disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrad Raffensperger: he\u2019s not some liberal. Like he\u2019s no hero of mine,\u201d Hillary Rosen, a Democratic strategist, said on CNN. \u201cHe is a solid conservative Republican standing up to the president. That\u2019s what makes it so significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s relentless attacks since the Nov. 3 election included an accusation that Raffensperger hid tens of thousands of illegal votes, ensuring Biden\u2019s victory. Georgia\u2019s Republican incumbent senators – David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler – have called on Raffensperger to resign.<\/p>\n

Perdue and Loeffler themselves are locked in tight campaigns ahead of Tuesday run-off elections that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

Raffensperger has come under fire from the party establishment across the state for not bending to Trump\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

Ronald Ham, the Republican party\u2019s head in rural Brantley County, said Raffensperger should take Trump\u2019s allegations about voter fraud more seriously. He said there were discussions among some party leaders about recalling him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a little too critical of Brad, but where there is so much smoke I would want to verify,\u201d Ham said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy, but he won\u2019t survive re-election if he gets that far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raffensperger told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in late November that he and his wife of 44 years had leaned on their faith to cope with the pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re straightforward people, simple people,\u201d Raffensperger said. \u201cWe\u2019re quiet people in an unquiet role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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