ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Citing a “daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican,” former Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced this week he has officially become a Democrat.
In a widely circulated op-ed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Duncan continued his ongoing criticism of President Donald Trump’s domestic and international policies, specifically his administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
Duncan’s change of party comes in a state that Trump lost in 2020 by only a few thousand votes, and one that he handily returned to the GOP column in 2024 on his way to an unprecedented return to the White House.
Duncan was Georgia’s 12th lieutenant governor, serving from 2019-23; he chose not to run for reelection in 2024, which cleared the way for then-state Sen. Burt Jones to ascend to office. Jones is now running for Georgia governor, seeking to succeed the term-limited Brian Kemp in next year’s highly watched gubernatorial election.
Duncan was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2013-17. He played professional baseball for six years after playing college baseball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, until a shoulder injury ended his career.
After leaving office, Duncan became a political commentator for CNN. He has been openly critical of Trump regarding the 2020 presidential election.
Last year, Duncan delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
In January 2025, the Georgia Republican Party’s executive committee passed a resolution to expel Duncan from the state party.
Besides Jones, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is also running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
Earlier this week, former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond joined four other Democrats — state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and businessman/pastor Olu Brown — who are seeking their party’s nomination.
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