Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is a structural engineer who lives by the precept that numbers don’t lie. He’s a lifelong conservative Republican and a successful businessman, founder and CEO of Tendon Systems, LLC, which provides high-strength steel for construction projects. Tendon Systems has nearly 150 employees and works on projects in more than twenty-five states.

Brad entered politics for the first time at the age of fifty-six, when he was elected to the City Council in Johns Creek, Georgia. Three years later he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served for two terms, and in 2018 Georgia voters elected him secretary of state. He immediately went to work shoring up Georgia’s election system, which relied on sixteen-year-old paperless machines. Brad oversaw the purchase and statewide implementation of new voting machines that generated verifiable paper ballots to allow for physical ballot auditing and a hand recount if necessary, and ensured that machines were in place for the 2020 election.

Brad and Tricia, his wife of forty-five years, raised three sons and now have three grandchildren. They attend North Point Community Church.