Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan abandons GOP to join Democratic Party

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced he is leaving the GOP and joining the Democratic Party, a move he says has been a long time coming as he has bucked heads with the Republican Party.

Duncan, who served as lieutenant governor as a Republican from 2019 until 2023, wrote in an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday that his path to becoming a Democrat began before President Donald Trump attempted to overturn his loss to former President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, which Duncan criticized at the time.

“My journey to becoming a Democrat started well before Donald Trump tried to steal the 2020 election in Georgia,” Duncan wrote in the newspaper.

“There’s no date on a calendar or line in the sand that points to the exact moment in time my political heart changed, but it has,” he continued. “My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.”

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Duncan pointed to several policy issues that played a part in his decision to change parties, criticizing Republicans for their handling of issues such as health care, Medicaid, gun safety, immigration and how to help poor people.

He said his time in office taught him the best way to “love my neighbor” is through public policy. Before his time as lieutenant governor, he served in the Georgia House from 2013 until 2017. He opted not to run for re-election as lieutenant governor in 2022. 

The former Republican said GOP lawmakers have argued for decades that the solution to not having health insurance is to have a job, but noted that most uninsured people in the Peach State live in working households yet do not have insurance because of affordability or eligibility. 

“So, the reality is they have a job, just the wrong job,” Duncan wrote. “One that doesn’t offer health insurance or generate enough spare money each month to afford their own health insurance plan.”

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Duncan also said the Trump-backed spending bill that was signed into law last month will leave Medicaid funding “in shambles,” as it cuts hundreds of billions of dollars from the government program. He also criticized the measure for its cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps, and its impact on ensuring children do not go hungry at school.

Duncan pointed to polls showing support for gun control measures such as universal background checks and red-flag laws.

He also criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation immigration policies that he said “have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.” He said that immigration policy should focus on securing the border, deporting those in the country illegally who have committed felonies, but that a path to citizenship should be created for other migrants in the U.S. 

Duncan’s party switch comes after the Georgia Republican Party expelled him from the party earlier this year over alleged disloyalty. The party’s resolution cited his endorsement of Biden in the 2024 presidential election and, once he dropped out, his endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as alleged efforts to undermine and sabotage some Republican candidates, including current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and failed 2022 Senate candidate Herschel Walker. 

The former Republican also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August in support of Harris.

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Duncan has been a fierce critic of Trump and the Republican Party in recent years, particularly since the president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

“The list of reasons why I’m now a Democrat continues to grow,” Duncan wrote. “Most importantly, my decision puts me in the best possible position each day to love my neighbor.”