According to several reports, Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) is not expected to run for reelection, and is instead expected to focus his efforts on moving the Republican Party away from former President Donald J. Trump.
“Duncan has signaled for months that he would not seek reelection after he’s repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump, but he’s declined to say publicly whether he will stand for another term,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Thursday. “Duncan’s chief of staff, John Porter, said the lieutenant governor was not planning a 2022 bid, though he added the decision hasn’t been finalized.”
Instead, Duncan will focus on what has been called his “GOP 2.0” initiative, which he described in an interview with CBS in December.
“GOP 2.0 has got to include a better way to message. You know, 280 characters on Twitter is not a way to message to America, and certainly we’ve got an opportunity – to your point, I think – America as a whole wants leaders that are inspiring and not condescending,” Duncan said, referring to Trump’s usage of Twitter as a mechanism by which to communicate with the American people.
Trump derided Republicans in Georgia, including Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) over the state’s voter integrity after losing the state by a tiny margin. Just this week, Raffensperger admitted that three counties broke the state’s election rules regarding the processing of absentee ballots during the November election.
Duncan became a major critic of Trump after the election, urging the GOP to move away from him before Trump even left office.
“The quicker we can move past Donald Trump – President Donald Trump – and move on as a nation and as a party … you know, I’m encouraged that the movement’s starting to build, and the GOP 2.0 that’s – you know, we should never, as a party, let a person be more powerful than our party,” Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) told Poppy Harlow on “CNN Newsroom” in January.
“Well, I can assure you, if we don’t move away from the party of Trump we will continue to lose and we will not be in the White House in 2024,” he continued.
Duncan has launched a website for his “GOP 2.0” project, which emphasizes a big tent approach to Republican politics, specifically focused on “policy, empathy and tone.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Georgia Capitol” by Autiger. CC BY-SA 2.0.
