ATLANTA — Brad Raffensperger, a Republican candidate for governor in Georgia, said Tuesday there was an “active threat” near a planned campaign event a day after, his campaign said, authorities received a message targeting him.
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A campaign spokesperson said in a statement that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi received a multipage manifesto Monday and that the front page had a photo of Raffensperger, who is Georgia’s secretary of state, with “boom” written across his face.
Police alerted the campaign of the threat and dispatched protection for Raffensperger and his family, campaign spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said by text message, adding that it also “beefed up” security for a planned six-stop campaign tour.
Earlier in the day, the Bibb County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office said officials found a “suspicious object inside of a vending machine inside a secure area” of Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon at 8:21 a.m. ET. No hazardous devices were detected during the sweep, and the airport was reopened, police said.
Raffensperger’s campaign had announced a campaign stop at the airport planned for 10 a.m.
“Law enforcement has a suspect and they are actively tracking that suspect,” Mahoney said. “We have not released the name of the suspect nor the contents of the manifesto yet.”
It was not immediately clear whether the bomb scare and the threatening message were related or why the message was sent to Mississippi.
Local, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Raffensperger has faced numerous threats over the years after he refused President Donald Trump’s demand that he “find” more votes in Georgia following the 2020 election. He has repeatedly pushed back against Trump’s false claims that he won that election.
Raffensperger said Tuesday in a statement that the campaign was dealing with an “active threat.”
“It’s not exactly the spot that we had envisioned, but it’s clear that when you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, you put people ahead of politics, some folks just won’t like you,” he said. “In fact, some people will hate you, even want to try and hurt you. So yes, we are dealing with an active threat, and no, I refuse to back down.”
Raffensperger is seeking to replace Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited. His opponents include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, one of the presidential electors who cast votes for Trump at the State Capitol after an official tally found that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election. Trump has endorsed Jones in the governor’s race.
Georgia’s primary is next Tuesday.
