The two Republicans senators cited « mismanagement and lack of transparency » in calling for the elected secretary of the state to resign.
WASHINGTON — Republican senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia demanded the resignation on Monday of their state’s elected Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. In a rare joint statement, Perdue and Loeffler cited « mismanagement and lack of transparency » as the reasons for their demand, but did not offer specific examples. « We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party, » read the statement in part. « There have been too many failures in Georgia elections this year and the most recent election has shined a national light on the problems… The mismanagement and lack of transparency from the Secretary of State is unacceptable. » Their demand is extraordinary, but not wholly surprising. Extraordinary because both Perdue and Loeffler are facing likely runoff elections for their Senate seats in January against Democrats. So the political calculus behind attacking a fellow Republican who is also the state’s top election official is difficult to understand. Raffensperger is popular among Republicans in the state, and in 2018 President Donald Trump endorsed his campaign, tweeting that Raffensperger « will be a fantastic secretary of state for Georgia.
