Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger knows what it’s like to be on President Donald Trump’s bad side, but he has no regrets defying his demand to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election.

“I do the right thing, no matter what. I’ll stand for Georgia,” the Republican candidate for governor said. “Other people haven’t been put to that test, but we were at the end of the day.”

Raffensperger was one of six leading candidates for Georgia governor who joined the Politically Georgia forum in November. Here are excerpts from his interview.

Watch the full interview of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from the AJC's "Politically Georgia" candidate forum held on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

On his tax policy

“Social Security is going to be 2.8% higher next year. And yet because home prices have gone up so much, your property tax bill could go up 7% to 15%. We need an immediate property tax cap for seniors. … I’ve never voted for a tax increase in my life, and I never will.”

On his agenda

“I’m running for governor, and I’m focused on what I can do as governor to make sure we create great-paying jobs for Georgians, have safe communities, safe schools. We do that and make sure we have an education system not just for today but also for tomorrow.”

On the mood of the electorate

“The No. 1 issue that voters have right now is affordability, and we need to get serious about it. I think you need someone that knows how to build and create jobs. And that’s what I did in my own business, created hundreds of jobs.”

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