Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, once a rising star in Republican politics, says he is now a Democrat.
In an op-ed published this week in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Duncan announced the change, writing that his “political heart” had shifted over time and that the change began well before the 2020 election and its aftermath in Georgia.
“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,” Duncan wrote. “My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.”
Duncan, who served as lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023, framed his decision in both moral and policy terms. He said his support for Medicaid expansion, gun safety reforms, and humane immigration policy put him more in line with the Democratic Party than the GOP.
“My time in elected office has taught me the most effective way to love your neighbor on a mass scale is through prudent public policy,” he wrote. “Authoring the now $75 million rural hospital tax credit as a state representative and then later partnering with Democrats as lieutenant governor to successfully pass hate crimes legislation has helped give me that rewarding perspective.”
Duncan cited Georgia’s high uninsured rate, food insecurity among children, and recent federal budget cuts to social programs as key issues driving his switch.
“An estimated 19.6 percent of children (500,000) in Georgia lack consistent access to food,” Duncan wrote. “We should all be looking for ways to love these kids better than continuing to send them to school hungry under the guise of an income tax break, even if the solution has to be financed out of our state’s abundantly funded $17 billion rainy-day fund.”
He also criticized hardline immigration policies and called for bipartisan solutions.
Duncan’s announcement follows months of public estrangement from the GOP. In January, the Georgia Republican Party formally expelled him, accusing him of violating his “oath of allegiance” and “undermining fellow Republicans.”
The party cited Duncan’s opposition to President Donald Trump, his support for Democratic candidates in the 2024 election, and his speech at the Democratic National Convention as reasons for the decision.
“This action is unprecedented,” Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon told The Epoch Times at the time, “as is Duncan’s repeated treachery against fellow Republicans in service of his own personal agenda.”
Duncan, a former professional baseball player, is the author of the 2021 book “GOP 2.0” and a contributor on CNN.
“The list of reasons why I’m now a Democrat continues to grow,” he said in the op-ed. “Most importantly, my decision puts me in the best possible position each day to love my neighbor.”
