The losing Democrat in Georgia’s runoff election for secretary of state says he wishes his Republican rival “every success” as the state’s new elections chief.
Former congressman John Barrow conceded the race in a statement Wednesday. He was defeated in the Tuesday runoff by Republican state Rep. Brad Raffensperger, who’ll take over as secretary of state in January.
Barrow had said earlier Wednesday he wasn’t ready to concede because there were still outstanding absentee votes to be counted.
Raffensperger says he’s got “a full plate” to deal with following contentious midterms focused on security concerns with aging voting machines and allegations that some voters faced unfair obstacles at the polls.
He told The Associated Press on Wednesday that problems at the polls were “relatively minor” overall and “there was no concerted effort of any suppression whatsoever.”
