R&I – FS
In early January 2021, then-President Donald Trump tried to persuade Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results. Raffensperger rejected Trump’s requests as well as his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Now, Raffensperger is facing a primary in 2022 from Rep. Jody Hice, whom Trump has endorsed for Georgia secretary of state.
In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, we continue our conversation about challenges to democracy in America by talking with Raffensperger, whose new book, “Integrity Counts,” comes out in November. He describes his experience being targeted by Trump and his supporters. Raffensperger also criticizes fellow Republicans in Georgia for not speaking out against Trump’s false claims of election fraud and for removing him as the chair of the Georgia Board of Elections this year. And he explains why he largely supports the new voting laws that Georgia Republicans passed since the 2020 election. We ask him what it all means for democracy.
Galen Druke, host of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast: Were you or your family afraid [because of the threats directed at you after the 2020 election]?
Brad Raffensperger: I think that we’re getting concerned. Obviously, we left our house for a few days because they were talking about having a big rally up front. And that was just ginned up by people in positions of power, including the president.
Just Think
Article URL : https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/brad-raffensperger-says-gop-lawmakers-lack-moral-courage-on-the-big-lie/