Raffensperger says he faced ‘active threat’ at Macon campaign stop

MACON — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Tuesday he faced what he called an “active threat” after Bibb County’s bomb squad was dispatched to a Macon campaign stop for his Republican bid for governor.

The Bibb Sheriff’s Office said they were notified around 8:20 a.m. about the threat and later found what they described as a suspicious object inside a vending machine in a secure area at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. The object was secured and no hazardous devices were detected, officials said.

“The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently under investigation. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

A spokesperson with the GBI said the agency has not been asked to investigate.

Deputies with the sheriff’s office were seen still blocking the entrance to the airport around 11:30 a.m. The area and the airport reopened shortly after.

Raffensperger has faced years of backlash from President Donald Trump’s supporters since he refused the president’s demand to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.

Raffensperger went forward with the event in Macon, part of a six-part fly-around tour of the state. He framed the incident as part of the cost of standing by his values.

“When you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, when you put people ahead of politics, not everyone will like it. In fact, some people may try to intimidate you or do you harm,” Raffensperger said.

“So yes, we are dealing with an active threat. And no, I will not back down. I’ll continue fighting for what’s right, and I’ll continue standing for Georgia — no matter what. At this time, that’s all I can say.”

The episode injects a volatile new element into the final days of the Republican primary race for governor, where Raffensperger is trying to claw his way into contention against billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

Raffensperger has sought to carve out a lane in the Tuesday vote as a more traditional conservative who supports much of Trump’s agenda but rejects the president’s false claims of widespread election fraud. His campaign is built around an appeal to mainstream Republicans, swing voters and old-school conservatives who see his defiance of Trump in 2020 as a mark of independence rather than betrayal.

But that stance has made him a pariah among many GOP activists. The Georgia Republican Party passed a resolution last year seeking to block Raffensperger from qualifying for office, a symbolic move that underscored the lingering anger toward him inside the party.