The top-ranking election official in Georgia accused Republican leaders of fanning the flames of division as a recount of the 2020 election draws close with President-elect Joe Biden still in the lead.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said people are “angry” about the results of the 2020 election, and he blamed Republicans in his state, such as Rep. Doug Collins, for promoting the idea that the election was stolen from President Trump.
“There’s just people who are really angry, and they’re being spun up,” Raffensperger told the Hill. “It’s really the spinners that should be ashamed for playing with people’s emotions. Politicians of both sides should never play with people’s emotions. It’s one thing to motivate people, I get that. But to spin people up and play with their emotions, it’s emotional abuse, and they ought to grow up and start acting with integrity.”
Biden is leading in Georgia by more than 14,000 votes, and a recount shows little promise of overturning the result.
Raffensperger, a Republican, has faced criticism from inside his own party as Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue have both called for him to resign when an election cycle that featured Georgia as the normally deep-red state became a pivotal part of the 2020 race.
“I’m a Republican, I’m a conservative one, and I don’t like the idea that President Trump is not going to win,” Raffensperger said. “But at the end of the day, I want every voter to know we’re going to do our job and make sure every legal vote is counted.”
Loeffler and Perdue are gearing up for a highly anticipated January runoff election after neither secured a victory on Election Day.
