Georgia’s 2026 candidates still can’t escape fallout from Trump’s false 2020 election claims

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ATLANTA (AP) — Fallout from the 2020 presidential election feels like it may never end in Georgia.

Maybe more any other state, the decisions made after Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow win — and Donald Trump’s false claims of victory — still define politics in the Peach State.

In Georgia, 2020 may guide the Republican choice for governor in 2026, influence the Democratic primary for governor, and resonate in the U.S. Senate race.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state who rebuffed Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s Georgia victory is running for governor in 2026. Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who also opposed Trump’s push, is seeking the governorship as a “proud Democrat.” The current lieutenant governor, Republican Burt Jones, wears his support of Trump’s 2020 cause as a badge of honor.

And Georgia’s incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is seeking reelection, might not have won in January 2021 but for 2020’s chaotic fallout.

“It’s all tied up in the staying power of one Donald Trump,” said Jay Morgan, former executive director of the Georgia Republican Party, explaining why ripples from 2020 still matter.

Some Republicans fear showcasing those differences could repulse some voters. Buzz Brockaway, a former Republican state legislator, said there’s a chance “relitigating the 2020 election” will dominate some Georgia races. “If you’re a Republican, that’s bad news, because no one cares beyond a few activists,” he said.

In a September Gallup poll, about one-quarter of U.S. adults named economic issues as the most important problem facing the country, while about 4% pointed to issues related to elections and democracy.

Disputes over 2020 animate politics far beyond Georgia. In Michigan, state House Republicans in June proposed impeaching Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a 2026 candidate for governor, in part over claims she improperly backed Biden’s 2020 victory. In Arizona, a Republican legislator who questioned election administration in the state’s most populous county was elected in 2024 to oversee voting there. In Pennsylvania, lawsuits continue over a 2020 voting-by-mail law, and it could become a 2026 campaign theme because the GOP-endorsed challenger to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — supports Trump’s call to eliminate mail voting.

Supporting Trump’s false claim of a 2020 victory remains a Republican purity test. GOP primary foes are attacking both Louisiana U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s reelection bid and Tennessee U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s run for governor, arguing they didn’t back Trump to the hilt after the president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But in Georgia, 2020 is a factor in every marquee race.

Jones was already endorsed for governor by Trump before an August kickoff rally. There, allies proclaimed Jones the true GOP choice because Jones aided Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s win in Georgia. Jones was one of 16 Republicans who declared themselves as electors even though Biden had won, and Jones backed a call for a special session to declare Trump the winner. Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr, Jones’ top rivals for the Republican nomination, spurned Trump’s efforts.

“In reality, these politicians are MAGA today because it benefits them, but they weren’t willing to be MAGA when it might cost them,” state Sen. Greg Dolezal told the pro-Jones crowd. ”In 2020, when President Trump needed allies, these politicians were silent.

Last week, Jones’ campaign released an ad calling Carr and Raffensperger “Georgia’s team Never Trump,” saying only Jones “always supported” Trump.

Other Republicans are finessing the divide, siding with Trump on current issues while sidestepping past differences. Raffensperger didn’t mention Trump once in his 2-minute announcement video for governor, instead focusing on his defense of Georgia’s voting system against Biden and two-time Georgia Democratic governor nominee Stacey Abrams. Raffensperger only indirectly alluded to the 2020 firestorm, saying “I’m prepared to make the tough decisions; I follow the law and the Constitution, and I’ll always do the right thing for Georgia, no matter what.”

Like Raffensperger, Carr is voicing agreement with Trump’s policies, while emphasizing his own record fighting crime and recruiting jobs.

Meanwhile, Duncan quit the Republican Party after years of criticizing Trump and is trying to forge a new identity as a Democrat. At a Black-owned Atlanta coffee shop this month, he campaigned under a mural of prominent Democrats, including Ossoff and one of Duncan’s Democratic opponents for governor, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Duncan sought to retool some of his old themes for his new party, including the importance of small businesses and technology, while trumpeting his record as a proven Trump opponent.

“With regards to Donald Trump, whoever wins that Republican primary is going to have to take the keys out of their pocket for the state and hand them over to Donald Trump,” Duncan told The Associated Press.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp came under Trump’s fire after refusing his election-related demands in 2020 although he now maintains a a public peace with the president. But Kemp is trying to make former football coach Derek Dooley the Republican Senate nominee to challenge Ossoff with a variation of a strategy that Raffensperger and Carr are using. Dooley is asserting agreement with Trump, but promising to “put hardworking Georgians first.” His top opponents for the Republican nomination, U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, leave not an inch of daylight between them and Trump.

Democrats hope GOP divisions will drive independents to them in 2026. Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey said swing voters are turned off by kowtowing to Trump.

“There is a toeing of the line, bending of the knee.” Bailey said. “Whether something is true or right depends on who said it, namely whether Trump said it.”

But Morgan said there’s still a fervor for Trump propelling conservative voters.

“2020 galvanized the base that allowed Donald Trump to be the nominee of the Republican Party once again,” Morgan said. “And that base is absolutely essential for anybody seeking a Republican nomination. And then beyond that, that base has to turn out for that candidate to win.”