What counts for Brad Raffensperger

Faith, family and the loss of a child prepared himfor political storm.

President Donald Trump lashed out at Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Thanksgiving night as “an enemy of the people,” furious that he had certified the 2020 election in Georgia for President- elect Joe Biden.

Now overseeing the third statewide count of presidential ballots in as many weeks, Raffensperger has found himself in the crosshairs of a president who refuses to give up, a party unwilling to make him, and the death threats and media crush that have followed the chaos.

The New York Times recently described Raffensperger, now embroiled in the state GOP’s civil war, as “punctilious,” “austere” and “beleaguered.”

But on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Raffensperger was relaxed and smiling at his home in the Atlanta suburbs.

PHOTOS BY ALYSSA POINTER/ ALYSSA. POINTER@ AJC. COM Secretary of State Brad Raffffensperger has repeatedly defended the integrity of the election, in the face of attacks fromPresident Donald Trump and fellow Republicans, and vicious socialmedia attacks and death threats fromTrump supporters.

An elections reviewgroup goes over ballots during a Cobb County recount of presidential votes inMarietta.