Georgia Sec. of State says he will not resign after Sens. Loeffler and Perdue call for resignation

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a stament on Monday that he will not resign from his post, after Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue released a joint statement earlier in the day calling for Raffensperger's resignation.

The two Republican senators are both slated to compete in runoff elections in January. 

"The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state," the senators said in their statement. "Georgians are outraged, and rightly so. We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process."

"We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it's in your own party," the senators noted. "There have been too many failures in Georgia elections this year and the most recent election has shined a national light on the problems. While blame certainly lies elsewhere as well, the buck ultimately stops with the Secretary of State. The mismanagement and lack of transparency from the Secretary of State is unacceptable. Honest elections are paramount to the foundation of our democracy. The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections. He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately."

Raffensperger, who is also a Republican, declared in his statement that he will not resign from his position.

"The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me," Raffensperger said in the statement. 

"My job is to follow Georgia law and see to it that all legal votes, and no illegal votes, are counted properly and accurately," he noted. "As Secretary of State, that is my duty, and I will continue to do my duty. As a Republican, I am concerned about  Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate. I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that."