Brad Raffensperger targeted by threat as he runs for governor [View all]

Source: Politico

05/12/2026 10:50 PM EDT


Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State and candidate for governor, was the target of a credible written threat, his campaign said Tuesday. Campaign spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said the threat came in the form of an apparent manifesto to a sheriff’s office in Mississippi that featured a photo of Raffensperger with the word “boom” scrawled across his face.

It was unclear if it was related to the discovery on Tuesday — a day after the campaign was notified about the written threat — of a suspicious object found inside a vending machine at a campaign stop in Macon that prompted the campaign to move the event outside.

The manifesto was not released and the motive was not publicly known, but the incidents are an apparent reminder of the potent threat of political violence in the U.S. especially for a high-profile candidate such as Raffensperger, who drew fierce criticism for resisting President Donald Trump’s efforts to resist the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

“When you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, and when you put people ahead of politics, not everyone will like it. In fact, some people may try to intimidate or do you harm,” Raffensperger said in a statement posted to social media. “So yes, we are dealing with an active threat. And no, I will not back down.”. The Atlanta Journal Constitution first reported the written threat.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/12/brad-raffensperger-threat-00918228