Bee Nguyen wins Georgia primary to take on Trump foe Raffensperger

Associated Press/Brynn Anderson
Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen participates in Georgia’s secretary of state democratic primary election runoff debates, June 6, 2022, in Atlanta. Nguyen, backed by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, is trying to defeat former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler in the secretary of state’s race. The winner will face Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the fall.

State Rep. Bee Nguyen is projected to win the Democratic nomination to take on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), according to The Associated Press.

Nguyen’s victory came in a Tuesday runoff against former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler. 

Nguyen, who has the endorsement of Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, came in first in a May 24 primary, finishing nearly 26 points ahead of Dawkins-Haigler. 

But she still fell short of the majority support she needed to win the nomination outright, sending her and Dawkins-Haigler into a head-to-head primary runoff. 

Nguyen’s victory on Tuesday sets her up to face the Republican who has emerged as one of former President Trump’s top political targets. Raffensperger earned Trump’s ire after he rebuffed the former president’s pleas to help him overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Raffensperger, who testified before the House Jan. 6 committee earlier Tuesday, overcame a Trump-backed primary challenge from Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) last month. 

While Nguyen is expected to face an uphill battle in her campaign against Raffensperger, the incumbent secretary of state could run into trouble if he’s unable to rally the support of Trump’s ultra-conservative base in November. 

–Updated on June 22 at 6:08 a.m.

Tags Bee Nguyen Brad Raffensperger Georgia Georgia primaries Georgia runoffs Georgia Secretary of State

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