An FBI raid on Georgia’s largest elections office has reopened the state’s deepest political fault line, dragging the 2020 election back into the center of two of its highest-profile races and forcing Republican candidates to decide how closely to align themselves with President Donald Trump’s renewed fight.
The FBI’s seizure of thousands of 2020 ballots from Fulton County instantly injected fresh volatility into Georgia’s governor’s race and a closely watched Senate contest, just as Republican strategists say voters remain far more focused on economic pressure than relitigating the last presidential election.
“This race comes down to affordability and public safety,” said a Republican operative based in Georgia. “At the bottom, bottom, bottom of that list is the 2020 election. A lot of Republican primary voters are literally struggling to put food on the table. They don’t want candidates talking about something that happened six years ago.”
The operative warned the renewed focus risks distracting candidates from the issues driving the primary electorate.
Another Georgia Republican strategist questioned whether the episode offers any political upside for the party.
“If you war-game this out, what scenario is there where this is a net positive?” the strategist said. “I just don’t think diving down the rabbit hole is as productive.”
The clash lands in the middle of Georgia’s open governor’s race, where Republicans are competing to replace term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp in a crowded primary already shaped by lingering divisions over Trump and the last presidential election. The leading contenders include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The contest was further shaken this week by the surprise entry of Jackson Healthcare founder and CEO Rick Jackson, who pledged to spend at least $40 million of his own money.
The strategist called Jackson’s bid “a total game changer,” arguing that his wealth and outsider profile could quickly reorder a race that had revolved around established statewide officials.
On the Senate side, Republicans are battling in a competitive primary to take on Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. The GOP field includes Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Mike Collins (R-GA), along with former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who is running with Kemp’s endorsement.
Ossoff is already capitalizing on the Fulton County raid to ding his opponents.
“Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election have been based in Georgia from the very start,” Ossoff said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “We need to be prepared for Trump to continue abusing his power in an attempt to undermine Georgians’ voting rights in the midterm elections. I challenge my Republican opponents Buddy Carter, Derek Dooley, and Mike Collins to answer a simple question: Did Donald Trump win the state of Georgia in 2020?”
Two of those Republicans quickly embraced the investigation. Collins and Carter praised the FBI operation on social media. Collins wrote, “Go get ’em, Kash,” in a reference to FBI Director Kash Patel, while Carter said Georgians were about to receive “long-overdue answers.”
Dooley has not commented publicly. His campaign did not respond to requests for a statement.
Federal agents arrived at the Fulton County elections office last week after a federal magistrate judge approved a warrant authorizing the seizure of all ballots from the county’s 2020 election. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the investigation concerns “election integrity.”
In a letter to lawmakers, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Trump directed her to attend the Georgia operation and that she later connected several of the FBI agents involved with him by speakerphone.
Fulton County officials filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking the return of the records on Wednesday and warning the investigation could carry nationwide consequences for election administration.
“This is a serious case,” County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said at a news conference. “Our Constitution is at stake in this fight. The Constitution is the law of the land. It is not a suggestion.”
Raffensperger responded this week with a statement titled “Groundhog Day Returns,” defending the integrity of the 2020 election while urging Congress to focus on new nationwide election standards rather than revisiting settled claims.
“I urge lawmakers to focus on strengthening state administration of elections,” Raffensperger wrote, “rather than rehashing the same outdated claims or worse — moving to federalize a core function of state government.”
Jones, a Trump-backed candidate in the governor’s race, used the moment to renew criticism of Raffensperger and Carr, both resisted efforts to overturn the 2020 election and are now his rivals.
“Fulton County Elections couldn’t run a bake sale,” Jones wrote on X. “Today is an important step toward accountability.”
Whether the FBI raid becomes a defining flashpoint or fades into Georgia’s long history of election disputes remains uncertain. Some Georgia Republicans say the bigger risk is that the state again becomes a national symbol of election conflict, a role many voters are exhausted by.
“We are sick of being the focal point of politics in a bad way,” the operative said. “This whole thing makes us look dumb and backwoods. Most people here have moved on. It’s a small group of people that have not.”
The operative argued candidates chasing Trump’s approval could be stepping into a trap.
“For candidates who are endorsed by Trump or pursuing a Trump endorsement, they’re doing so at their own peril,” the operative said. “They’re repeating whatever conspiracy comes out of this instead of talking about what voters actually care about.”
FULTON COUNTY SUES FOR FILES TAKEN BY FBI RAID
If the investigation stretches into the heart of the primary season, strategists say it could give Democrats a weapon in the general election, even if it fails to move Republican primary voters.
“If this becomes what 2026 is about, then yeah, it’s a gift to Democrats,” the strategist said. “But if it gets swallowed by the news cycle, I don’t know how much lasting impact it has.”