Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has emerged as a rare Georgia Republican endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, aligning himself with the national Republicans for Harris coalition. While the coalition has gained traction in other swing states like Arizona, it has yet to find significant support in Georgia, despite the state’s 2020 shift to blue.
“Donald Trump is the absolute worst thing to ever happen to the Republican Party — and in my mind, one of the worst things that ever happened to our political system here in this country,” Duncan said in an interview with Atlanta Civic Circle.
Duncan was the only prominent Republican from Georgia to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week as part of the Republicans for Harris roster.
Why is the Republicans for Harris coalition struggling in Georgia? According to Duncan, Georgia is not actually a swing state — and Trump’s detrimental influence on the Republican ballot is what makes it appear competitive.
“The only thing that makes Georgia a swing state is Donald Trump. Every time he endorses somebody or he’s involved in a race himself, it’s either close or he loses,” Duncan said.
Republicans hold the eight statewide offices in Georgia, he added, including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general – along with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Even so, Duncan is the only Georgia Republican who’s held office to join the Republicans for Harris coalition so far.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who leads the state’s Republican Party, has announced that he supports the Republican ticket, including Trump. Despite Kemp’s harsh criticism of Trump over his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” in Georgia, the governor has not broken ranks to support Harris. Neither has Josh McKoon, who heads the Georgia GOP Party.
Does Trump drag down the ballot? Jeffrey Glas, a political science lecturer at the University of Georgia, agreed with Duncan that Georgia generally leans Republican — but when Trump’s name and candidates he’s endorsed are on the ballot, he said, the state performs very poorly for the Republican Party.
This became apparent in the 2022 gubernatorial election, where Brian Kemp’s decisive reelection victory reaffirmed Georgia as a red state, Glas said. By contrast, he noted, in 2020 Trump’s candidacy and endorsements allowed the Democrats to secure victories in Georgia’s tighter Senate races and the presidential election.
Despite Trump’s poor performance in Georgia, Glas said, the state’s Republicans still remain deeply committed to him because of a more conservative political culture than some other swing states.
“Arizona has a different political culture … Georgia is definitely much more traditionally conservative, almost like Reagan’s ‘Eleventh Commandment’-style Republican Party, where you don’t criticize your fellow Republicans,” he explained.
For candidates running in Republican primaries, Glas said, loyalty to Trump is still a prerequisite for success, even if it jeopardizes their chances in the general election. And because Trump’s influence remains strong among Georgia Republicans, it’s risky for GOP politicians to openly criticize him or support a Democratic candidate.
“If you’re criticizing Donald Trump, you’re not winning a Republican primary, no matter what your qualifications for office are,” Glas said. He pointed out that Trump-backed candidates like Herschel Walker, who ran for Senate in 2020, won their primaries but faltered in the general election.
Will other Republicans break ranks besides Duncan? “A majority of Republicans will either hold their nose and vote for Donald Trump in November, skip that part of the ballot when they’re voting, or quietly vote for Kamala Harris and not tell a soul.” Duncan agreed.
Even though he’s voting for Harris, Duncan said he still stands firm in his Republican values. “I have every intention of continuing to be a Republican that’s conservative, but not angry,” Duncan said. But the United States needs a leader who “doesn’t just look like a president, but acts like a president and talks like a president,” he added.
“We need a time out for the Republican Party to figure out who we are and who we want to be, because Donald Trump is no longer our guiding light – or should not be our guiding light,” he said.
I hope ever republican that votes for Harris loses when they are up for election 👎👎👎👎
Keep hope alive! Let’s go Dems.
👏👏👏
The Unrepentant Degenerant Malignant Narcissistic Imbecile with Myriad Other Mental Problems will lose Georgia again.
Traitor!
I’m Alabama voter Disgusting your a RINO.