Georgia begins early voting today in two runoffs that will decide the composition of the next U.S. Senate. If Democrats win both seats, the Senate will be split 50-50 (with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris acting as tiebreaker). If they don’t, it will be controlled by Republicans who stand ready to block most actions of a Biden presidency.
Brad Raffensperger is the man overseeing Georgia’s critical race. As secretary of state, his role is to ensure that the election is fair and — he hopes — drama-free. “My job is to have fair and honest elections, but also I’d love to have elections get back to being boring again.” He does not want “everything flamed up.”
That’s because Mr. Raffensperger is still dealing with the flames of last month’s presidential election. Donald Trump called the secretary of state “an enemy of the people” as he certified (and then recertified) Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia. Mr. Raffensperger has faced pressure — and death threats — from members of his own party.
In this episode of Sway, Kara Swisher presses the secretary of state on how he’s managing the ire of his party, why — if elections were free and fair — he and fellow Republicans continue to champion voting restrictions, and how wrong Mr. Raffensperger was to compare Donald Trump to Stacey Abrams.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.
Best Of: Jon Stewart
Best Of: Matthew McConaughey
Best Of: Stacey Abrams
Best Of: Jason Miller
Best Of: Fran Lebowitz
First Person: She’s Gay and a Republican. Is There a Place for Her in the G.O.P.?
Best Of: Monica Lewinsky
Best Of: Elon Musk
Kara in the Hot Seat
‘Venture Capitalists Are Going to Turn Into Vulture Capitalists,’ and Other Predictions From Andrew Ross Sorkin
Would You Upload Your Consciousness to the Cloud?
‘The Senate Needs a Soul’
As Bitcoin Busts, What’s the Future of Web3? And What Even is Web3?
Can We Tech Our Way Out of Climate Change?
David Axelrod, Sarah Longwell and Preet Bharara on What to Look For in the Jan. 6 Hearings
Best Of: Dave Eggers Created the Google-Amazon Mash-Up of Your Nightmares
Are Elon Musk and Twitter Trapped In a Bad Marriage?
David Ellison on ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ Working with Tom Cruise and Hiring John Lasseter
When It Comes to Gun Control, Will ‘Baby Steps’ Fix Anything?
The C.E.O. of Condé Nast: ‘ This Is No Longer a Magazine Company’
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Insight Story: Tech Trends Unpacked
Zero-Shot
Fast Forward by Tomorrow Unlocked: Tech past, tech future
The Unbelivable Truth - Series 1 - 26 including specials and pilot
Lex Fridman Podcast