Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced Tuesday that he will run for governor of Georgia in 2026 as a Democrat, formalizing a high-profile party switch and entering a competitive midterm race.
In a video announcing his campaign, Duncan said, “Georgia Republicans threw me out of their party, but I was leaving anyway.” He pledged to focus on key issues for Georgians, such as the rising costs of child care, medicine, and housing, and vowed to “make Georgia the front line of democracy and a backstop against extremism.”
Duncan, who served as Gov. Brian Kemp’s lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023, has been a prominent critic of former President Donald Trump. His break with the GOP culminated last month when he announced his party change in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed. Following his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, the Georgia GOP’s executive committee voted to expel him.
“My journey to becoming a Democrat started well before Donald Trump tried to steal the 2020 election in Georgia,” Duncan wrote in the op-ed, referencing the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in the state. “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.”
In a statement, Duncan, a former CNN contributor, added, “As Georgia’s first Democratic governor in 28 years, I will stand up to Trump and his yes men in our state.” The last Democrat to hold the office was Roy Barnes, elected in 1998.
While Kemp secured reelection in 2022 by a margin of more than seven points against Stacey Abrams, Democrats remain optimistic about their statewide chances, currently holding both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats. The 2022 gubernatorial contest was one of the nation’s most expensive, with over $80 million in general election ad spending, according to AdImpact.
Duncan joins a developing Democratic primary field that includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former state Sen. Jason Esteves. On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has Trump’s endorsement, is running against state Attorney General Chris Carr.
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