Jody Hice: Trump endorses opponent of Georgia election official he asked to ‘find’ more votes

Former president is also courting a primary challenger to the state’s Republican Governor, Brian Kemp

Donald Trump has formally endorsed a Republican candidate who plans to unseat Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Mr Trump issued a statement Monday announcing his endorsement of Rep. Jody Hice for the position.

"Unlike the current Georgia Secretary of State, Jody leads out front with integrity. I have 100% confidence in Jody to fight for Free, Fair, and Secure Elections in Georgia, in line with our beloved US Constitution. Jody will stop the Fraud and get honesty into our Elections!" he wrote. "Jody loves the people of Georgia and has my Complete and Total Endorsement."

Mr Raffensperger became the subject of the former president's ire in the weeks following Mr Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The Republican official insisted that his state's elections were secure and that its vote count was accurate, even after Mr Trump's campaign demanded two recounts.

The secretary of state became the subject of harassment, threats and derision from his own party, and former senators. Kelley Loeffler and David Perdue – both loyal to Mr Trump – asked him to step down.

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In December, Mr Trump called Mr Raffensperger and asked if they could “find” the exact number of votes he would need to flip the state. The secretary of state recorded the rambling, hour-long call laden with conspiracy theories and released it to the press.

Prior to that, Mr Trump referred to Mr Raffensperger as an "enemy of the people" while falsely accusing him of "vote harvesting" with Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Other Republican election officials in Georgia pleaded with Mr Trump to stop spreading conspiracy theories, fearing that it would lead to violence.

Mr Hice was elected to Congress in 2014, and has since become a Trump loyalist. He called Democratic allegations that Mr Trump provoked the insurrection at the Capitol "bogus."

Mr Trump is also reportedly courting someone loyal to him to challenge the state's Republican Governor, Brian Kemp.

The former president wrapped Mr Kemp up in his attempts to pin his electoral losses on Georgian state officials.