Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said he won’t endorse the GOP nominee to replace him, noting that the candidate, Burt Jones, backed Donald Trump’s false assertions that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“I don’t believe the election was rigged and he does,” said Duncan, who did not seek reelection this year
At a newsmaker panel during an event for Atlanta Journal-Constitution subscribers at the Georgia Aquarium on Tuesday, Duncan made it clear he wouldn’t support Jones because of his role as a fake Republican elector for Trump — who lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden — and because of the state senator’s ongoing questions about the election.
Duncan defended Georgia’s election results and took heat for it from Trump supporters.
“I just have a hard time — me and my family, with all that we’ve gone through — to put our stamp of credibility on that,” Duncan said. “When your family receives death threats, when you receive mountains and mountains and mountains of negative attention because somebody wants to lie about the outcome of an election, I have a problem with that.”
Jones shrugged off Duncan’s comments.
“I’ve been busy campaigning and trying to win the hearts and minds of voters while also trying to help (U.S. Senate candidate) Herschel Walker and (Gov.) Brian Kemp,” Jones said Wednesday. “You can’t miss something you never wanted.”
Duncan was part of a panel discussion with AJC reporters and former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, who praised the lieutenant governor’s unwillingness to endorse Jones, saying more politicians should take similar positions.
“We can no longer tolerate in a democracy people that don’t believe that elections are fair,” he said.
Barnes is supporting Jones’ Democratic opponent in the race for lieutenant governor, Charlie Bailey. Bailey also previously worked for Barnes’ law firm.
Jones and Duncan have a rocky history.
Jones was one of several Republican senators who backed attempts to overturn the presidential vote in Georgia in favor of Trump. When the legislative session resumed in 2021, Duncan announced that Jones would no longer serve as chairman of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.
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