Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, once considered a promising figure in Republican politics, formally left the GOP this week to join the Democratic Party — a move that drew a swift and cutting rebuke from President Donald J. Trump.
“Failed former Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, of Georgia, is a total loser,” Mr. Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social, shortly after the announcement. “Was never able to get anything done, all he ever did was complain. We didn’t want him in the Republican Party any longer, so I’m told he became a Democrat. Good riddance Geoff. You don’t even have a chance!!!”
Mr. Duncan, who served from 2019 to 2023, had long been at odds with his party’s populist wing. He rejected claims of election fraud in 2020, distanced himself from candidates aligned with Mr. Trump, and in recent years endorsed Democratic leaders over Republican contenders.
Earlier this year, he was expelled from the party for endorsing President Biden’s re-election bid — a stance he doubled down on after Mr. Biden withdrew from the 2024 race, offering his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The announcement of his new party affiliation came in an op-ed published Wednesday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In it, Mr. Duncan framed his decision as a gradual moral shift, writing: “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.”
His stated reasons echoed familiar Democratic talking points. He criticized GOP positions on healthcare, immigration, and gun laws, claiming the party had undermined “efforts to care for vulnerable families” by seeking cuts to Medicaid and food assistance.
He also condemned Republicans for failing to advance new gun restrictions and described the Trump administration’s border enforcement policies as “a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.”
“The list of reasons why I’m now a Democrat continues to grow,” he wrote. “Most importantly, my decision puts me in the best possible position each day to love my neighbor.”
For Republicans, Mr. Duncan’s departure underscores the widening gap between the party’s traditional establishment figures and the populist base energized by Mr. Trump.
Critics within the GOP view his defection as less a principled stand than a natural conclusion to years of political drift — and a move that aligns him with a party whose priorities increasingly diverge from Georgia’s Republican electorate.
Mr. Trump’s sharp response highlights the president’s continued influence over the party’s boundaries and membership.
By casting Mr. Duncan as an ineffective officeholder and political opportunist, Mr. Trump sought to frame the defection as an overdue break rather than a significant loss for the GOP.
Whether Mr. Duncan’s shift marks the beginning of a new political chapter or the end of his electoral relevance remains unclear.
But in Georgia’s fast-changing political landscape, where the Republican base remains firmly aligned with Mr. Trump, his move to the Democratic Party could prove to be less a reinvention than a retreat.
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