Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says he will vote for Biden in November

CNN
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Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said Monday he will vote for President Joe Biden in November, arguing that former President Donald Trump “disqualified himself through his conduct and character.”

“Unlike Trump, I have belonged to the Republican Party my entire life. This November, I will vote for a decent person with whom I disagree on politics, rather than a criminal defendant with no moral compass,” CNN contributor Duncan wrote in an opinion piece published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Duncan told CNN’s Laura Coates on Monday night that Trump is “not a Republican” and “does not represent our brand.”

“Donald Trump is not a Republican. It does not represent our brand. It does not represent our future. He’s a horrible human being right now, we’re watching this hour after hour in court,” Duncan said. “It’s time to move on. If we want to heal as a party and actually get back to doing the things we’re supposed to be doing — and that’s being conservative but not angry or crazy or lying — we must immediately turn the page on Donald Trump.”

In the op-ed titled “Why I’m Voting for Biden and Other Republicans Should Too,” Duncan described why he decided not to support the GOP nominee. While Duncan admitted that Biden’s age is a concern for many and that his “progressive policies don’t sit well with conservatives,” he wrote that he had no alternative in arguing that a second Trump term would hold the Republican Party back.

“The Republican Party will never rebuild itself until we emerge from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden,” Duncan wrote. “The alternative is another term for Trump, a man who disqualified himself by his conduct and character. The headlines are ablaze with his secret trial over allegations of inadequate payment record keeping to hide an affair with an adult film star.”

Duncan criticized other members of his party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, calling it “disappointing to see a growing number of Republicans line up behind former President Donald Trump ”. “That mentality is completely wrong,” he added.

Duncan also criticized Bill Barr, who was once the former president’s attorney general and has since emerged as one of Trump’s most prominent critics, for recently saying he would vote for the presumptive Republican nominee over Biden in November.

“Ironically, having served as attorney general until December 2020, Barr has seen firsthand Trump’s ability to cause harm. Barr’s statement that the Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election infuriated his boss and set off a chain of events that ended on January 6,” Duncan wrote.

“Trump showed us who he is. We should believe him. To think that he will change at 77 is beyond unlikely,” Duncan later added.

Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia caused Duncan and other Georgia Republican Party election officials, including Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to push back against Trump’s allegations of fraud in the state.

Duncan was president of the Georgia state Senate when Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election before Georgia state lawmakers in meetings he said at the time he did not “sanction.”

Last year, he testified before the Fulton County grand jury, which would later indict Trump and others for their attempts to overturn the state’s election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges he faces.

Duncan told CNN’s Jake Tapper after the 2020 election that Trump attacking Kemp and Raffensperger “disgusts” him and spoke about the threats elected officials in the Peach State have received.

“All of us in this position have greater security around us and our families and that is un-American, that is not what democracy is about, but it is the reality now. So let’s keep doing our work. Governor Kemp, Brad Raffensperger and I, the three of us, voted and campaigned for president, but unfortunately, he didn’t win the state of Georgia, but that doesn’t change our job descriptions,” Duncan said.

In 2021, Duncan announced that he would not run for re-election in 2022, explaining that he would instead focus on reforming the Republican Party.

“We have to move forward as Republicans, we have to, and this is our first step towards that. … I think Georgians are going to vote against Donald Trump,” Duncan said on “Laura Coates Live.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Jack Forrest and Rashard Rose contributed to this report.