Brad Raffensperger defeats Trump’s effort to oust him as Georgia’s top election official

The secretary of state had been excoriated by many in the GOP for refusing to help overturn the 2020 election

Brad Raffensperger defeated congressman Jody Hice on Tuesday in a closely watched Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state, a significant victory for a politician who has been scorned by his own party for refusing Donald Trump's request to overturn the 2020 election.

In a surprise, Raffensperger avoided a runoff and won an outright victory over Hice, getting more than 50% of the vote, according to the election monitoring website Decision Desk HQ. The race was called by the Associated Press and other outlets late on Tuesday night.