Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announces his 2026 Republican bid for governor. (AP Photo/Ben Gray File)
Raffensperger's agenda includes a push to eliminate the state income tax, capping property taxes for seniors, repealing taxes and fees on closing costs for homebuyers, expanding tax credits for parental school choice, banning drugs that block puberty from gender-affirming care and purging "woke curriculums" from schools.
A statement from his campaign also highlighted that Raffensperger pledged "to work alongside President Donald Trump and congressional leaders to bring jobs back to Georgia, deport criminal aliens, and restore law and order in communities across the state."
The now-70-year-old engineering entrepreneur, along with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, refused to aid Trump as the president tried to reverse now-former President Joe Biden's razor-thin 2020 election victory in Georgia.
THE MOST VULNERABLE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN 2026 LAUNCHES RE-ELECTION BID
Trump appeared to pressure Raffensperger in an early January 2020 call when the president urged Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to upend Biden's victory. Raffensperger told Trump at the time that his data was wrong and that "we believe our numbers are right."
That earned Trump's scorn, and he backed Republican primary challenges against Kemp and Raffensperger when they both ran for re-election in 2022.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan of Georgia announces his Democratic bid for governor on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
Duncan endorsed Biden in the 2024 presidential race and later supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris after she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats' 2024 ticket. Duncan spoke in a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last summer. Earlier this summer he announced he had switched parties and become a Democrat.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Duncan joined a Democratic primary field that already includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond and former State Sen. Jason Esteves.
While Georgia was once right-leaning, it has become a key general election battleground. But Republicans have won every gubernatorial contest in the state since 2002.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-who-defied-trump-over-2020-election-results-launches-battleground-state-governor-bid