Republican wins runoff to become Georgia's secretary of state

Republican Brad Raffensperger defeated former Democratic Rep. John Barrow in Tuesday night's runoff to become Georgia secretary of state, the AP reports, marking the end of a contentious midterm cycle marred by concerns of voter suppression.

The big picture: The win is a blow for Democrats who had hoped to add Georgia to a string of secretary of state election victories they secured last month in Arizona, Colorado and Michigan. Raffensperger pledged to prioritize election fraud and continue the strict enforcement of voter ID laws and purges of voter rolls carried out by his predecessor, Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp.

Go deeper: Georgia's voter purging problem