Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said he’s not ruling out the idea of running for governor as a Democrat.
“If given the opportunity to be taken seriously by the Democrats and have an opportunity to shift the platform, I’d certainly think about it,” said Duncan. “But, (I’m) not there, not now.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalists Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy asked Duncan about his political future on Tuesday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast.
“I’m certainly fielding phone calls from folks across the state that are asking that same question,” he said. “And it’s just too early for me to figure out.”
Duncan, an opinion columnist for the AJC, has had an ideological disagreements with Georgia Republicans.
Last year, he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, prompting state Republicans to “expel” him from the party.
“I’m certainly not going to run as a Republican,” he said about his political future.
Duncan said the time he spent last year exploring a run for president as a candidate on the “No Labels” ticket taught him a lot.
“I learned a lot in the No Labels process when I was being courted to potentially run for president as a moderate or independent. There just isn’t a viable lane there,” he said.
Duncan voiced his frustration with the Trump-backed “big, beautiful bill” moving through the U.S. Senate. It is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that it would add to the nation’s deficit by $2.8 trillion.
“Let’s remember where we where we started this budget conversation,” he said. “On the campaign trail Donald Trump (said he was) not going to add to our deficit.”
The bill advanced over the weekend as Senate Republicans raced to meet their self-imposed July 4 deadline.
Over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, announced that he would vote against the bill and retire from the Senate at the end of this term. That came after a furious Trump threatened to run a primary opponent against him.
Duncan said he related to Tillis’ plight.
“I think Thom Tillis got to the point that I got to several years ago, and that there’s just no place in the Republican Party for somebody that’s willing to call balls and strikes.”
Later in the podcast, producer Natalie Mendenhall interviewed AJC reporter Michelle Baruchman about the new state laws going into effect on July 1st.
Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour “Politically Georgia” podcast hotline at 770-810-5297. We’ll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday mailbag segment. You can also email your questions to PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com.
Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play the ‘Politically Georgia’ podcast.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
