Gabriel Sterling, a name now synonymous with Georgia's tumultuous election history, has officially launched his bid to become the state’s next secretary of state. Sterling, 54, filed the necessary paperwork on September 2, 2025, and confirmed his candidacy just two days later, setting the stage for a Republican primary that promises to be as contentious as the elections he once helped oversee. Sterling’s entry into the race comes after a long tenure as the right-hand man to current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and his decision is already stirring speculation about the future of Georgia’s election administration.
According to Atlanta News First, Sterling left his position as chief operating officer (COO) of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office last month, after more than six years in the role. He has since started a new business, Sterling Innovative Solutions, but it’s his move back into the political spotlight that has captured attention across the state—and the nation. Public records, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta and the Associated Press, confirm that Sterling filed his “Declaration of Intention to Accept Campaign Contributions” with the state ethics commission, the first step for any candidate seeking to raise funds for a statewide run.
Sterling’s campaign slogan, delivered in a statement to multiple outlets, is as direct as his reputation: “Georgia elections are the safest in the nation and I will fight every day to keep it that way.” He signed off one message as a “conservative Republican,” a label that may soon be tested in a party still deeply divided over the events of 2020.
The 2026 secretary of state race has already drawn a crowded field. On the Republican side, Sterling will face State Rep. Tim Fleming and Kelvin King, both of whom have signaled support for election reforms that appeal to the party’s Trump-aligned base. King, a former U.S. Senate candidate, has openly criticized “government employees who attack political candidates or supporters—of either party,” in what many see as a jab at Sterling’s public rebukes of former President Donald Trump and his supporters. King’s wife, Janelle King, sits on the State Elections Board, adding another layer of political intrigue. Fleming, meanwhile, leads a committee investigating Georgia’s election procedures and has advocated for a trial of hand-marked paper ballots, a key demand among Republican activists since 2020.
On the Democratic side, Adrian Consonery Jr. is currently the only declared candidate. Georgia’s open primary system, as highlighted by the Associated Press, means that independents and even Democrats can vote in the Republican primary, potentially shaking up traditional party dynamics. The question looming over Sterling’s campaign is whether he can attract enough support from both mainstream Republicans and more moderate voters, or if Trump loyalists—many of whom blame Sterling and Raffensperger for Trump’s narrow loss in Georgia—will dominate the primary.
It’s impossible to discuss Sterling’s candidacy without revisiting the seismic events of 2020. As COO, Sterling was at the center of Georgia’s election operations during one of the most scrutinized presidential elections in modern history. Georgia, long considered a Republican stronghold, flipped to Democrat Joe Biden by a razor-thin margin, making Biden the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. The aftermath saw President Trump and his allies unleash a barrage of unfounded claims about widespread fraud, much of it aimed at the state’s new voting machines from Dominion Voting Systems—a system Sterling himself had overseen the rollout of in 2019 and 2020.
When Trump famously called Secretary Raffensperger in January 2021, urging him to “find” enough votes to overturn the result, Sterling stood by his boss. He became a familiar face on national news, repeatedly debunking fraud allegations. In a December 2020 press conference, Sterling called out the president directly: “What you don’t have the ability to do, and you need to step up and say this, is stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence,” he said, warning, “Someone’s going to get hurt. Someone’s going to get shot. Someone’s going to get killed.” According to AP and Atlanta News First, those warnings were not just rhetorical. Both Sterling and Raffensperger received threats and had their homes under police guard. On January 6, 2021—the day of the U.S. Capitol siege—the two men were escorted out of the Georgia Capitol by state troopers as armed protesters gathered outside.
Sterling’s steadfast defense of the election process drew praise from some quarters and scorn from others. Trump supporters, in particular, have questioned the loyalties of both Sterling and Raffensperger, branding them as obstacles to Trump’s efforts to contest the results. Sterling has not minced words about the claims of fraud, dismissing them as “insanities, fever dreams [and] made-up Internet cabal,” as reported by 11Alive and FOX 5 Atlanta. He also publicly rejected Trump’s allegations as “all easily, provably false.”
The political fallout from 2020 continues to reverberate through Georgia’s Republican Party. In June 2025, state GOP delegates voted to bar Raffensperger from running as a Republican in the future, a move that underlines the ongoing rift within the party. Raffensperger himself has not announced his plans, though he has hinted at possible runs for governor or U.S. Senate in 2026.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s election system is on the cusp of significant change. Starting in the summer of 2026, a new state law will remove QR codes from ballots, requiring the secretary of state to devise a new method for voting. This technical shift is likely to become a flashpoint in the campaign, with candidates like King advocating for hand counting of ballots and others, like Fleming, pushing for further studies and reforms.
Sterling, a lifelong Republican who previously served as a city council member in Sandy Springs, is betting that his record of defending Georgia’s elections—and his willingness to stand up to pressure from the highest levels—will resonate with voters looking for stability and integrity. Yet, as the campaign heats up, he’ll need to navigate a party still wrestling with the aftermath of 2020 and a state where election administration remains a lightning rod for controversy.
The coming months will reveal whether Sterling’s brand of forthright, technocratic conservatism can win over a Republican electorate divided between loyalty to Trump and a desire to move forward. One thing is certain: with Gabriel Sterling in the race, Georgia’s 2026 secretary of state contest is set to be a defining chapter in the ongoing story of American democracy.
