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Trump pressures Georgia elections chief: ‘Find 11,780 votes’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of a “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording of the conversation.
The phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday was the latest step in an unprecedented effort by a sitting president to press a state official to reverse the outcome of a free and fair election that he lost. The Republican president, who has refused to accept his loss to Democratic President-elect Biden, repeatedly argued that Raffensperger could change the certified results.
“I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said. “Because we won the state.”
Georgia counted its votes three times before certifying Biden’s win by a 11,779-vote margin, Raffensperger noted.
“President Trump, we’ve had several lawsuits, and we’ve had to respond in court to the lawsuits and the contentions,” he said on the call. “We don’t agree that you have won.”
Audio snippets of the conversation were first posted online by The Washington Post. The Associated Press obtained the full audio of Trump’s conversation with Georgia officials from a person on the call. The AP has a policy of not amplifying disinformation and unproven allegations. The AP plans to post the full audio as it annotates a transcript with fact check material.
Trump’s renewed intervention and the persistent and unfounded claims of fraud came nearly two weeks before he leaves office and two days before twin runoff elections in Georgia that will determine political control of the U.S. Senate.
It also added a level of further intrigue to Trump’s rally in Georgia on Monday night — likely the last of his term — in which he is supposed to boost the two Republican candidates. In a rage after the Raffensperger call, Trump floated the idea of pulling out of the rally, which would have potentially devastated the GOP chances in what is expected to be a pair of razor-thin races.
But Trump was persuaded to go ahead with the rally as a stage from which to reiterate his claims of election fraud and to present, as he tweeted Monday, the “real numbers” from the race. Republicans, though, were wary as to whether Trump would focus only on himself and potentially depress turnout by undermining faith in the runoff elections and not promoting the two GOP candidates.
The president used Saturday’s hourlong phone conversation to tick through a list of claims about the election in Georgia, including that hundreds of thousands of ballots mysteriously appeared in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta. Officials have said there is no evidence of that happening.
The Georgia officials on the call are heard repeatedly pushing back against the president’s assertions, telling him that he’s relying on debunked theories and, in one case, selectively edited video.
“It was pretty obvious pretty early on that we’d debunked every one of those theories early on,” Raffensperger told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, “but President Trump continues to believe them.”
Also during the conversation, Trump appeared to threaten Raffensperger and Ryan Germany, the secretary of state’s legal counsel, by suggesting both could be criminally liable if they failed to find that thousands of ballots in Fulton County had been illegally destroyed. There is no evidence to support Trump’s claim.
“That’s a criminal offense,” Trump says. “And you can’t let that happen.”
<P>TRUMP, ON TAPE, PRESSES GA. OFFICIAL TO ‘FIND’ TRUMP VOTES</P>
Others on the call included Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and attorneys assisting Trump, including Washington lawyer Cleta Mitchell. Trump lost the Electoral College to Biden by 74 votes, and even if Georgia, with its 16 votes, were to end up in his column, it would have no impact on the result of the election.
The call was the first time Raffensperger and Trump spoke, though the White House had tried 18 previous times to set up a conversation, according to officials.
Democrats and a few Republicans condemned Trump’s actions, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the GOP House leadership team who deemed the call “deeply troubling.” And Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Kathleen Rice of New York made a criminal referral to FBI Director Christopher Wray and called for an investigation into the president.
Legal experts said Trump’s behavior raised questions about possible election law violations.
Biden senior adviser Bob Bauer called the recording “irrefutable proof” of Trump threatening an official in his own party to “rescind a state’s lawful, certified vote count and fabricate another in its place.”
“It captures the whole, disgraceful story about Donald Trump’s assault on American democracy,” Bauer said.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in that chamber, said Trump’s conduct “merits nothing less than a criminal investigation.”
Trump said in a tweet earlier Sunday that he had spoken with Raffensperger. He attacked how Raffensperger conducted Georgia’s elections, tweeting, “He has no clue!” and he said the state official “was unwilling, or unable” to answer questions.
Raffensperger’s Twitter response: “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.”
Various election officials across the country and Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have said there was no widespread fraud in the election. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden’s victory, have also vouched for the integrity of their state elections. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which has three Trump-nominated justices.
Still, Trump has publicly disparaged the election, raising concerns among Republicans that GOP voters may be discouraged from participating in Tuesday’s runoffs pitting Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler against Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican David Perdue against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Rebecca Green, who helps direct the election law program at William and Mary Law School, said that while it is appropriate for a candidate to question the outcome of an election, the processes for doing so for the presidential election have run their course. States have certified their votes.
Green said Trump had raised “lots of questions” about whether he violated any election laws.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Trump has shown “reprehensible and, possibly illegal, conduct.”
Trump noted on the call that he intended to repeat his claims about fraud at Monday night’s rally in Dalton, a heavily Republican area in north Georgia.
“The people of Georgia are angry. The people of the country are angry,” he says on the recording.
Biden is also due to campaign in Georgia on Monday. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris stumped in Garden City, Georgia, on Sunday, slamming Trump for the call.
“It was a bald, bald-faced, bold abuse of power by the president of the United States,” she said.
Loeffler and Perdue have largely backed Trump in his attempts to overturn election results. But on Sunday, Loeffler said she hadn’t decided whether to join her Republican colleagues in challenging the legitimacy of Biden’s victory over Trump when Congress meets Wednesday to affirm Biden’s 306-232 win in the Electoral College.
Perdue, who was quarantining after being exposed to the coronavirus, said he supports the challenge, though he will not be a sitting senator when the vote happens because his term has expired. Still, he told Fox News Channel he was encouraging his colleagues to object, saying it’s “something that the American people demand right now.”
Florida
Byron Donalds Secures Endorsement From Gainesville Democrat Cynthia Moore Chestnut, Spotlighting Cross-Party Politics
Longtime Democratic leader backs Republican nominee as state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis pushes back, renewing debate over the impact of cross-party endorsements in Florida politics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (FNN) — Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds has secured the endorsement of Gainesville City Commissioner Cynthia Moore Chestnut, a longtime Democrat and former state lawmaker, drawing criticism from fellow Democrats and putting Florida’s history of cross-party political support in the spotlight.
Proud to have the endorsement of Cynthia Moore Chestnut, a longtime public servant who has represented her community at the city, county, and state levels.
I’m honored to have her support as our movement continues to grow across Florida! pic.twitter.com/r0oARJB15o
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) September 3, 2026
Chestnut announced her support for Donalds on Thursday and followed with a lengthy explanation defending her decision. She said she remains a Democrat but does not believe party affiliation should dictate her vote.
“My endorsement of Byron Donalds is not a betrayal of my values; it is a declaration that Black voters are not political property,” Chestnut wrote.
Chestnut, a former Florida House member, Alachua County commissioner and Democratic Party leader, said she wants to see Florida elect a Black governor in her lifetime.
That gives the endorsement additional historical significance. Donalds, who won the Republican nomination in Florida’s Aug. 18 primary, is seeking to become Florida’s first Black governor, according to The Associated Press.
The endorsement is also notable because Chestnut previously supported Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly before shifting her support to his Republican opponent. Current reporting confirms Chestnut’s endorsement and her subsequent defense of the decision.
Florida Democratic state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, who represents Central Florida in the Florida Senate.
State Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis Pushes Back on Donalds Endorsement
Democratic state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis of Ocoee responded with an extensive public statement saying she was “deeply disappointed” by Chestnut’s decision.
Bracy Davis focused much of her criticism on Donalds’ record on voting rights, including his opposition to federal voting-rights legislation and to the proposed Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act, which Bracy Davis sponsors.
“I want to see a Black governor of Florida in my lifetime too,” Bracy Davis wrote, while arguing that representation should not be separated from a candidate’s voting record and policy positions.
The disagreement presents competing views of political independence. Chestnut argues that Black voters should not be treated as the political property of either party. Bracy Davis argues that representation should be weighed against a candidate’s record and policies.
Byron Donalds’ Jim Crow Remarks Resurface
Bracy Davis also invoked Donalds’ controversial 2024 comments about Black families during the Jim Crow era.
Donalds said at a Philadelphia event that “during Jim Crow, the Black family was together” while discussing marriage and family structure. Democrats sharply criticized the remarks, while Donalds rejected interpretations that he was praising segregation.
The distinction is important: Donalds did not explicitly say Black Americans were better off under Jim Crow.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut Points to FAMU and Black Representation
Chestnut also cited Donalds’ connection to Florida A&M University and the importance she places on Black representation.
Donalds attended FAMU before transferring to Florida State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree.
Chestnut, a FAMU graduate, said she respects Donalds’ support for historically Black colleges and universities and also cited shared cultural connections through his Jamaican and Panamanian family background.
Bracy Davis countered that attending an HBCU should not substitute for examining a candidate’s political record.
David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who became a Democrat in 2025, is the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida in 2026. Source David Jolly
David Jolly Was a Republican Before Becoming a Democrat in 2025
Party affiliation adds another dimension to the controversy.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly represented Florida in Congress as a Republican from 2014 to 2017. He left the Republican Party in 2018 and became an independent.
Jolly remained unaffiliated for several years before registering as a Democrat in April 2025, as he considered entering the 2026 governor’s race.
He subsequently entered the race and won the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 18 primary. AP described the contest as Donalds, the Republican nominee, against Jolly, a former Republican congressman running as the Democratic nominee.
The circumstances differ from Chestnut’s decision: Jolly formally changed parties; Chestnut says she remains a Democrat while supporting the Republican nominee.
The history nevertheless creates an unusual political contrast: a longtime Democrat is supporting Donalds over a Democratic nominee who previously represented Florida in Congress as a Republican.
Byron Donalds Adds $1 Million From Orlando-Based Morgan & Morgan
Chestnut’s endorsement comes as Donalds continues attracting substantial financial support heading into the general election.
A Florida National News review of Florida Division of Elections campaign-finance records found that Morgan & Morgan contributed $1 million to Friends of Byron Donalds PAC on Aug. 26, 2026.
The contribution appears in the committee’s 2026 G1A report and identifies the contributor as “Morgan & Morgan,” with an address at 20 N. Orange Ave., 16th Floor, Orlando.
The same report shows 18 contributions totaling approximately $1.93 million, meaning the Morgan & Morgan contribution accounted for more than half of the money listed in that group of contributions.
Morgan & Morgan was founded by Orlando attorney John Morgan, who has a long history of political involvement and support for Democratic candidates and causes, although his political activity has crossed party lines.
The distinction is important: Florida’s filing identifies Morgan & Morgan — not John Morgan personally — as the contributor of the $1 million.
For Donalds, the developments represent two different forms of support as the general election takes shape: a seven-figure contribution from a prominent Orlando law firm and a cross-party endorsement from a Democratic elected official with decades of experience in Florida politics.
Democratic Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer included Republican Steve Leary among his endorsed candidates for the 2024 election. The Orlando PAC mailer promoted Leary for Orange County Commission District 5 alongside several Democratic candidates. Source Winter Park Voice
Buddy Dyer, Gary Siplin and Victoria Siplin Show Cross-Party Support Is Not New
Chestnut’s decision has generated attention, but Democratic elected officials supporting Republican candidates is not unprecedented in Central Florida.
During the 2024 Orange County Commission District 5 race, Democratic Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer endorsed Republican former Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary.
Political Rivals: Samuel Vilchez Santiago lost the 2020 Florida House District 48 Democratic primary to Daisy Morales, who went on to win the seat. During Morales’ 2022 reelection campaign, Vilchez Santiago supported Rita Harris, who defeated Morales in the Democratic primary. Vilchez Santiago later chaired the Orange County Democratic Party during the 2024 dispute over Morales’ party status. In their 2026 House District 43 rematch, the dispute resurfaced in news coverage and FHDCC attack mailers alleging Morales endorsed Republicans and was expelled from the local party. The mailers identified the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee as the payer and Vilchez Santiago as approving them. Morales disputes the allegations and has challenged them through litigation and an election complaint.
Samuel Vilchez Santiago, then-chairman of the Orange County Democratic Executive Committee, told Winter Park Voice that the organization “sent out texts and mailers alerting voters that Leary is a Republican, not a Democrat.” Vilchez Santiago said those communications were not issued in response to Dyer’s endorsement, but were intended to educate voters.
However, former Democratic state Sen. Gary Siplin and Orange County Commissioner Victoria Siplin, also a Democrat, supported Leary as well.
Those endorsements occurred in an officially nonpartisan county election, an important distinction from the partisan governor’s race, although the candidates’ political affiliations were publicly known.
The examples nevertheless demonstrate that prominent Central Florida Democrats have previously crossed party lines to support Republican candidates.
Then-Orange County School Board Vice Chair Angie Gallo publicly endorses Joel Montilla for Orange County Commission District 5 in a campaign graphic paid for and approved by Montilla’s campaign. Source: Joel Montilla Campaign
Angie Gallo Endorsed Republican Joel Montilla and Served as His Campaign Manager
Another example emerged during the same 2024 Orange County Commission election.
Angie Gallo, an elected Orange County School Board member who served as board vice chair, publicly endorsed Republican Joel Montilla during his campaign for the District 5 commission seat.
Her involvement extended beyond an endorsement.
A Joel Montilla campaign press release dated Oct. 24, 2023, identifies “Angie Gallo — Campaign Manager” in the campaign’s contact information, providing direct campaign documentation of her role.
The campaign subsequently publicized Gallo’s endorsement of Montilla.
The distinction is significant: the documentary record establishes both a formal campaign-management role and a public endorsement.
The Orange County Commission race was officially nonpartisan, although Montilla’s Republican affiliation was publicly known.
Gallo’s involvement provides additional context for questions about when cross-party political activity becomes subject to internal Democratic Party rules.
Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, Rep. Daisy Morales, D-Orlando, Rep. Tray McCurdy, D-Orlando (in front) and Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, protest on the Florida Seal as debate is halted in the House of Representatives Thursday, April 21, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. The session was halted by the protest, but continued after a brief recess. Phil Sears AP
Former Democratic State Rep. Daisy Morales Adds Context to Party-Loyalty Debate
Former Orlando state Rep. Daisy Morales, a Puerto Rican Democrat, provides another Central Florida example relevant to the debate over party loyalty and political independence.
In 2022, Morales, a Puerto Rican lawmaker known for working across party lines, represented a Central Florida district with a significant Puerto Rican population.
On April 21, 2022, Morales joined Black Democratic lawmakers protesting a congressional redistricting map backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on the Florida House floor.
The demonstration received state and national attention.
The Miami Herald reported that several Black Democrats disrupted debate and that Democratic lawmakers sang “We Shall Overcome,” temporarily forcing the House into recess.
The Herald identified Morales alongside Democratic Reps. Yvonne Hinson, Travaris McCurdy and Angie Nixon in its reporting and accompanying photograph.
Morales carried a sign declaring:
“Legislators serve the people. Not your party.”
The Herald reported that McCurdy, Nixon and Rep. Felicia Robinson sat in the center aisle while more than a dozen Democratic colleagues gathered around them in solidarity. The Republican-controlled House later approved the congressional map 68-38 along party lines.
The demonstration also received national coverage.
NBC News, in reporting preserved through syndication, identified Morales as the Hispanic representative participating in the demonstration and subsequently issued a correction after initially identifying another lawmaker.
The episode placed Morales alongside Black Democratic lawmakers in one of the Legislature’s most visible protests of the 2022 congressional redistricting fight.
FNN also reported on the demonstration at the time, describing Democratic lawmakers as temporarily shutting down House proceedings while protesting the congressional map.
Two years later, Morales became involved in an Orange County Democratic Party dispute over an alleged loyalty-oath violation connected to the 2024 Orange County Commission District 5 election.
Morales disputes that she endorsed Republican Joel Montilla, maintaining that her involvement was limited to joining his campaign-launch host committee. Montilla has separately told FNN that Morales did not endorse him.
That creates a notable factual contrast with Gallo: Montilla’s own campaign documentation identifies Gallo as his campaign manager, and she subsequently publicly endorsed him.
The available record does not, however, establish that Morales and Gallo were subject to identical Democratic Party membership requirements, loyalty provisions or disciplinary authority.
Democratic state Rep. Jose Alvarez, center, speaks on the Florida House floor alongside Democratic state Rep. Susan Valdés, left, and Republican state Rep. Fabián Basabe, right. Source: Florida House
State Rep. Jose Alvarez Crossed Party Lines, Then Withdrew His Support
Cross-party support has also occurred in partisan legislative politics.
Democratic state Rep. Jose Alvarez of Kissimmee endorsed Republican state Rep. Fabián Basabe for reelection in 2025, saying his decision reflected his experience working with Basabe rather than their different party affiliations.
Alvarez later rescinded the endorsement in July 2026 and called for Basabe to resign following a civil jury verdict involving two former House employees.
The episode nevertheless provides another recent example of a Central Florida Democrat publicly supporting a Republican candidate.
Cross-Party Support and Democratic Party Discipline Are Different Questions
The examples involving Chestnut, Dyer, the Siplins, Gallo, Morales and Alvarez highlight an important distinction between cross-party political support and internal party discipline.
Being a registered Democrat or Democratic elected official does not necessarily make someone subject to the same county party loyalty oath, bylaws or disciplinary procedures.
That distinction is part of an unresolved dispute involving former state Rep. Daisy Morales, who filed a defamation lawsuit and sought a Florida Elections Commission investigation challenging campaign claims that she endorsed Republicans and was expelled from the Orange County Democratic Party. The allegations remain unresolved, and no finding of an election-law violation has been established.
The comparison with Angie Gallo is notable. The documentary record establishes Gallo’s formal role in Republican Joel Montilla’s campaign and her public endorsement, while Morales disputes endorsing Montilla — and Montilla has independently said Morales did not endorse him.
Whether the two were subject to the same party rules and disciplinary authority remains a separate factual question. Their situations can therefore be compared politically without assuming they constituted identical violations of Democratic Party rules.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut Says She Remains a Democrat
Chestnut has made clear that she does not consider supporting Donalds a departure from the Democratic Party.
“This endorsement does not mean I have stopped being a Democrat,” she wrote.
Instead, Chestnut framed her decision as an exercise of political independence and argued that Black voters should not be expected to support candidates solely on the basis of party affiliation.
Bracy Davis sees the endorsement differently, arguing that Donalds’ record on voting rights and other issues conflicts with principles Chestnut has advocated during decades in Democratic politics.
Their disagreement has transformed a single gubernatorial endorsement into a broader discussion about representation, party loyalty, policy and political identity.
What Comes Next: Will Other Democrats Follow Chestnut?
Chestnut’s endorsement now raises a broader question heading into the general election: Will other Democratic elected officials or longtime party leaders cross party lines and publicly support Donalds?
For now, Chestnut represents a notable individual endorsement rather than evidence of a broader Democratic movement toward the Republican nominee.
But the question carries added significance because of the historic nature of Donalds’ candidacy.
The Associated Press reported after the Aug. 18 primary that Donalds won the Republican nomination and is seeking to become Florida’s first Black governor. AP also placed Donalds among a historically significant group of Black major-party gubernatorial nominees running across the country in 2026.
Donalds has emphasized that winning the general election will require more than support from within his Republican base. After the primary, he told reporters that President Donald Trump’s endorsement was important but would not, by itself, carry him through the general election.
Chestnut has placed greater emphasis on the historic dimension. In explaining her endorsement, she explicitly cited her desire to see a Black governor of Florida during her lifetime.
That makes what happens next worth watching: whether Chestnut’s endorsement remains an individual cross-party decision or whether additional Democratic elected officials, party figures or other traditionally Democratic political supporters make similar choices before November.
The 2026 contest already presents an unusual political contrast: Donalds is seeking to become Florida’s first Black governor, while Jolly represented Florida in Congress as a Republican, left the GOP in 2018 and became a Democrat in 2025. Chestnut, a Democrat with decades of party involvement who says she remains one today, has chosen to support Donalds.
Whether other Democrats follow Chestnut remains an open question.
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