Clean cut and perma-tanned, the affable former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan could sooner pass for a suburban golf pro than the state’s latest political outcast.
But Duncan’s fast Republican rise came to a crashing halt in 2020 when he refused to go along with President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections in Georgia.
Fast forward five years, and Duncan is serving up another twist — a party change and a decision to run for Georgia governor when Democrats in the state so unpopular, their best chance to win in 2026 might just be with a candidate who isn’t a Democrat at all.
The beginning of the end between Duncan and the GOP came in 2020 when, as the state’s second-in-command, he said there was “not one shred of evidence” to support Trump’s false claims that the election had been rigged against him.
Duncan testified before the Fulton County grand jury about it and later called Trump “a three-ring circus” and “the worst candidate in the history of the party.” In return, Trump called Duncan “a loser” and worse.
Although he gave up on reelection, he still called himself a Republican, writing a book about a Trump-free way forward called, “GOP 2.0.” GOP voters roundly rejected that vision and chose Trump as their 2024 nominee for the third time in a row. Eventually Duncan was excommunicated by the state GOP, but only after he spoke at Vice President Kamala Harris’ nominating convention to implore his fellow Republicans to “dump Trump.”
Duncan finally changed party affiliation last month, saying it was easier to “love my neighbor” without having to defend Trump’s actions and the effect he’s having on the country. And on Tuesday, he launched his campaign for governor, telling the AJC’s “Politically Georgia” podcast the best way for Georgians to keep Trumpism in check is to make him the man to do it.
“I think this is an opportunity for me to not only bring Democrats, but also independents and disgusted Republicans to vote for me in November 2026,” he said.
It should come as no surprise that the response of Duncan’s former Republican colleagues has ranged from laughter to anger to eye rolls, while the Democrats already in the race were not at all impressed.
“I am reminded of the poetic words, ‘I’m not new to this, I’m true to this,’” former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, without naming Duncan, also noting she’s been a Democrat her entire adult life.
State Rep, Derrick Jackson pointed to Duncan’s record as the state’s lieutenant governor that he said hurt Democratic priorities he now says he supports. “Instead of staying to fight for his conservative beliefs, he now seeks to align with the very party whose values his past actions have so profoundly opposed,” he said.
A spokeswoman for former state Sen. Jason Esteves simply posted a picture of Duncan next to Gov. Brian Kemp as he signed the six-week abortion ban in 2019. “The women of Georgia will not forget,” she said.
It’s true that Duncan has not only changed his party recently, but also his position on a range of issues, including abortion, gun control, Medicaid expansion and immigration. And it will be on voters to decide if that’s sincere.
“I think the highest quality an effective leader can have is having the ability to say that they got something wrong. And I got it wrong,” he said on “Politically Georgia.”
Duncan’s former political colleagues might not buy his change of heart. But being out of step with the movers and shakers of both parties could be the best thing Duncan has going for him, since neither party has a lock on the state’s voters right now.
The AJC’s latest poll showed that although the president’s approval rating was at about 43%, just 35% of Georgia voters said they had a favorable impression of the Democratic Party, compared to 58% who have an unfavorable impression. With numbers that low, Democrats would be wise to make some real changes.
Georgia voters, at least, are clearly open to it. Duncan appeals to Rebecca Perkins, an independent voter from DeKalb County, who called him a “great new fresh addition for Democrats.”
“I think he offers a perspective that none of the other candidates on either side will bring,” she said. “He doesn’t toe any party line.”
Perkins voted for Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, but said she’s “definitely” voting for Duncan and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. “I appreciate them both,” she said.
The same holds for Democrat Craig Meyer from Forsyth County. Meyer said that he felt the Democratic field was weak before Duncan jumped in, with few seeming to appeal to Democrats outside of Atlanta.
“I think Duncan would be the perfect fit,” he said. “I believe people would cross over and vote for him.”
It’s way too early to say which Democrat in the race looks the strongest or could do the best. But it’s not too early to say that after 28 years of losing governor’s races, Democrats in the state need to try something different if they want a different result the next time around.
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