ATLANTA, Ga. - The man who famously warned President Donald Trump in 2020 to tone down his stolen election rhetoric has filed paperwork to begin receiving campaign contributions ahead of a Georgia secretary of state run.
Last month, Gabe Sterling left his position as chief operating officer of the Georgia Secretary of State's office, starting a business called Sterling Innovative Solutions.
The man who famously warned President Donald Trump in 2020 to tone down his stolen election rhetoric has filed paperwork to begin receiving campaign contributions ahead of a Georgia secretary of state run.
On Sept. 2, Sterling filed paperwork with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. Sterling later confirmed he is running for the office.
"Georgia elections are the safest in the nation and I will fight every day to keep it that way," he said.
Sterling, a Republican, served as COO for more than six years.
Sterling's old boss, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, still holds the office but has been widely rumored to be considering a bid for governor or U.S. senator in 2026.
Sterling and Raffensperger gained national attention in the chaotic aftermath of Georgia's 2020 presidential election.
That election saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1992 to win Georgia, or any other deep Southern state, in a presidential election. Biden defeated Trump by only a few thousand votes, and Trump made repeated claims about election malfeasance.
Those allegations led to a highly publicized phone call Trump made from the White House to Raffensperger, in which he urged his fellow Republican to find him enough votes to carry Georgia.
Raffensperger refused to do so, and Sterling, who made frequent appearances and issued public statements in the election's aftermath, famously warned Trump and Republican leaders that someone was "going to get hurt, someone's going to get shot, someone's going to get killed."
Sterling directly addressed Trump, telling him it was his responsibility to "stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence."