Why a 'simmering controversy' could doom Trump’s 'détente' with conservative Georgia gov

2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both conservative Republicans, for refusing to join him in falsely claiming that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats in the Peach State.

Kemp and Raffensperger have maintained that President Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in 2020 was perfectly legitimate, saying there were zero signs of widespread voter fraud. And Trump attacked Kemp again in an early August campaign rally in Georgia.

Yet later in the month, Trump thanked Kemp for his "help and support" in a Truth Social post. And according to Washington Post reporters Amy Gardner and Josh Dawsey, Kemp "plans to attend a fundraiser in Atlanta for the Republican presidential nominee."

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But the journalists also report that "the détente might not last."

"Kemp is now weighing whether state law requires him to get involved in a simmering controversy around the Georgia State Election Board, whose conservative majority is under fire for approving new rules this month that Trump supports but that state and local officials say will sow confusion, compromise ballot security and potentially enable rogue county boards to block certification of election results in November," Gardner and Dawsey explain. "This week, Kemp asked Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) for an advisory opinion on what authority he has to address ethics complaints against the state board. Those who filed the complaints have said that state law requires the governor to remove the members if he finds their actions were inappropriate."

The Georgia State Elections Board, the reporters note, now has a "pro-Trump majority." And this is raising concerns about how they would handle the certification process if, in November, Harris wins the state.

"Even more concerning to state and local election officials is a rule the board plans to take up on September 20 that would require all counties to conduct hand counts of ballots at the precinct level on election night," according to Gardner and Dawsey. "If approved, these officials say, the measure could lead to less accurate results and compromise ballot security by requiring more people to handle them."

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Many polls released in late August are showing a very close presidential race in the Peach State, which, according to the Cook Political Report, is very much in play for Harris.

A mid-August New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump with a 4 percent lead over Harris in Georgia. But late August Georgia polls show Harris ahead by 2 percent (Fox News) or 1 percent (The Hill/Emerson College).

The Washington Post's full article is available at this link (subscription required).