Former Georgia Republican Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan announces his support for Biden in the upcoming election.
“Instead of Trump, I've been a part of the GOP for my whole life. In November, I'll be voting for a guy I don't agree with on the issues, but he's an honest person, rather than a criminal who lacks morals,” Duncan wrote in a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In an op-ed named “Why Republicans Should Vote for Biden, Just Like Me,” Duncan explained why he opted against voting for the GOP nominee. While Duncan acknowledged Biden's age was an issue for many and his policies don't appeal to conservatives, he claimed that a second term for Trump would pose problems for the Republican Party.
"The GOP can't progress until we move on from the Trump era, leaving more moderate Republicans like me with no choice but to vote for Biden," Duncan wrote. "If we let Trump remain in power, he'll continue to cause damage. The news is full of stories about the ongoing trial about Trump's attempts to hide payments to a porn star with hush money."
Duncan criticized fellow Republicans, including the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, and called it disheartening to see more and more of them lining up behind Trump. "This mentality is completely off-base," he added.
He also criticized Bill Barr, who used to be Trump's attorney general, for more recently saying he'd vote for the Republican nominee over Biden in November. "After serving as Trump's attorney general till December 2020, Barr saw firsthand just how much damage Trump could cause," Duncan wrote.
"Trump has made it clear who he is. We need to believe him. To think he'll change at the age of 77 is too unlikely," Duncan later said.
The attempts by Trump to reverse the 2020 election in Georgia led Duncan and other Georgia GOP election officials, including Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to push back against Trump's fraud claims in the state.
Duncan was the President of the Georgia state Senate when Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies spread false allegations about the 2020 election before Georgia state officials in meetings, which he admitted at the time were not authorized by him. Last year, he testified at the Fulton County grand jury that indicted Trump and others for their attempts to overturn the election in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all the criminal charges he faces.
Duncan told CNN's Jake Tapper after the 2020 election that it disgusted him when Trump would attack Kemp and Raffensperger, and he discussed the threats that state officials have faced. "All of us in this role have heightened security around us and our families now, and it's not American; it's not what democracy is about, but it's reality right now. We'll keep on with our duties. Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger, and I all campaigned for the president but unfortunately, he lost the state of Georgia – it won't change our roles," Duncan said.
In 2021, Duncan decided he would not seek re-election in 2022, claiming he wanted to focus on improving the GOP. CNN's Jack Forrest contributed to this report.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Source: edition.cnn.com
