Brad Raffensperger
Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American businessman, civil engineer, and politician serving as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 50.
Brad Raffensperger | |
|---|---|
Raffensperger in 2022 | |
| 29th Secretary of State of Georgia | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2019 | |
| Governor | Brian Kemp |
| Preceded by | Robyn Crittenden |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 50th district | |
| In office February 10, 2015 – January 14, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Lynne Riley |
| Succeeded by | Angelika Kausche |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bradford Jay Raffensperger May 18, 1955 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Tricia |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Johns Creek, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | University of Western Ontario (BS) Georgia State University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Businessman, politician |
| Profession | Civil engineer |
Raffensperger rose to national prominence in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in which incumbent President Donald Trump lost. Trump refused to accept defeat, made false claims of fraud, and launched an unsuccessful protracted campaign to overturn the election results. As part of this campaign, Trump made a recorded phone call on January 2, 2021, in which he attempted to persuade Raffensperger to change the election results in Georgia in Trump's favor. Raffensperger refused to do so, and said the outgoing president's claims were based on falsehoods.
Raffensperger was reelected in the 2022 Georgia Secretary of State election, after defeating Trump-backed Jody Hice in the Republican primary and Democratic challenger Bee Nguyen in the general election.