Latest news with #GeorgiaRepublicanParty
Epoch Times
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan Joins Democratic Party
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.'
The Hill
06-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Former Georgia lieutenant governor joins Democratic Party
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has joined the Democratic Party after falling out with the GOP, saying the switch has been coming for a while. Duncan, in an op-ed published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, said his journey to becoming a Democrat began well before President Trump tried to 'steal' the 2020 presidential election, an effort that Duncan denounced him for at the time. '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,' he said. 'My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.' Duncan outlined various policy issues that contributed to his decision to make the switch, attacking Republicans for their handling of health care, Medicaid, support for poor people, gun control and immigration. The former lieutenant governor said his time serving in elected office taught him that the best way to 'love my neighbor' is through public policy. He added that Republicans have argued for decades that the solution to not having health insurance is to get a job, but most uninsured Georgians live in working households but don't have insurance because of issues with affordability or eligibility. 'So, the reality is they have a job, just the wrong job,' Duncan wrote. 'One that doesn't offer health insurance or generate enough spare money each month to afford their own health insurance plan.' He said Trump's ' big, beautiful bill ' will leave Medicaid funding 'in shambles' with hundreds of billions of dollars slashed from the program. He also criticized the legislation's cuts to funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. and the effect it will have on preventing children from being hungry at school. Duncan cited polls showing widespread support for gun control measures like universal background checks and red flag laws and slammed the Trump administration's immigration policies that he said, 'have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.' He also argued that immigration policy should focus on securing the border, deporting those in the country illegally who have committed felonies and creating a path to citizenship for the others. Duncan's decision comes months after the Georgia Republican Party expelled him from the party following his endorsement of former Vice President Harris during the 2024 presidential election. He also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August in support of Harris. The former Georgia State lawmaker has been a sharp critic of Trump and the GOP more broadly particularly since the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He chose not to run for reelection as lieutenant governor in 2022. 'The list of reasons why I'm now a Democrat continues to grow,' Duncan concluded. 'Most importantly, my decision puts me in the best possible position each day to love my neighbor.' He is just one of a few former officials who have switched from Republican to Democrat in recent months, including former Reps. Joe Walsh (Ill.) and David Jolly (Fla.).
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fulton County must confirm Republican election board nominees, judge rules
The Brief In a new ruling, a Fulton County judge says commissioners can't veto the two Republican nominees to the county's Board of Elections. Under Georgia law, the commission is required to appoint two people from the political parties that received the largest number of votes in the state - those being the Republicans and Democrats. The Georgia Republican Party sued the commission in June, saying that Fulton County officials violated state law by not confirming Frazier and Adams as its nominees to the board. FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County judge has ruled the county's Board of Commissioners must confirm the Republican nominees to its Board of Elections. In a ruling on Tuesday, Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson said there is no law that allows commissioners to veto Jason Frazier and Julie Adams' nominations. The backstory The Georgia Republican Party sued the commission in June, saying that Fulton County officials violated state law by not confirming Frazier and Adams as its nominees to the board. Under Georgia law, the commission is required to appoint two people from the political parties that received the largest number of votes in the state - those being the Republicans and Democrats. However, the lawsuit alleged that the Board of Commissioners voted instead to pass motions to table Frazier and Adams's nominations, despite them qualifying for the positions under the county's regulations. "I think the Republican Party ought to take a look at their people and not nominate people that are in [sic] the far right, and nominate people that are in the center. … But if y'all present some people that are in the center, they can get approved," the lawsuit quotes Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington, Jr. as saying during the meeting. What they're saying In his findings, Emerson said that Adams and Frazier were both eligible to be nominated to the board, arguing that they were both electors, residents of Fulton County, and not candidates for any office. "This court notes the failure to make these appointments leaves the two slots of one of the two political parties vacant when their term should have begun on July 1, 2025," he wrote. "The courts finds the lack of these appointments harms the election process and deprives the nominating party of representation on the BOE." Emerson also found that the Board of Commissioners does not have the discretion to disapprove "an otherwise qualified nominee." Dig deeper Adams is currently a member of the board and controversially argued in 2024 that she should be allowed to withhold certification of the county's election if she believed the results were incorrect or unreliable. Following her lawsuit, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that "no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance." Last month, a Georgia appeals court upheld McBurney's ruling, saying county election officials in the Peach State must vote to certify results according to deadlines set in law. She had previously refused to certify the May 2024 primary election results, raising questions about election procedures. The Source Information for this article came from a ruling by Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson and previous FOX 5 reporting. Solve the daily Crossword
Toronto Star
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene won't run for governor in 2026
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Tuesday that she won't run for governor in Georgia in 2026, putting an end to her flirtation with the race in a long social media post saying she was turned off by a political 'good ole boy' system and alleging that it was endangering Republican control of the state. Greene chose earlier not to run for Senate under pressure from Republicans who feared she would hand a second term to Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. But she told reporters she might instead run for governor during a June appearance at the Georgia Republican Party convention in Dalton, where she wore a 'Make Georgia Great Again' hat and discussing state issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene won't run for governor in 2026
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Tuesday that she won't run for governor in Georgia in 2026, putting an end to her flirtation with the race in a long social media post saying she was turned off by a political 'good ole boy' system and alleging that it was endangering Republican control of the state. Greene chose earlier not to run for Senate under pressure from Republicans who feared she would hand a second term to Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. But she told reporters she might instead run for governor during a June appearance at the Georgia Republican Party convention in Dalton, where she wore a 'Make Georgia Great Again' hat and discussing state issues. Greene said she would focus on the northwest Georgia congressional seat that she has held since 2020 but left open the door for a future run. 'One day, I might just without the blessing from the good ole boys club or the out-of-state consulting leeches or even without the blessing of my favorite president,' Greene wrote. 'One day, I might just run purely out of the blessing of the wonderful people of Georgia, my family and friends, but it won't be in 2026. Gov. Brian Kemp is ineligible to run again due to term limits, but other Republicans are already in the race, including Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger hasn't ruled out a run. Leading Democratic candidates for the office are state Sen. Jason Esteves and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Others in the field include state Rep. Derrick Jackson and Atlanta pastor Olu Brown. Republicans have held the governorship since 2002, and Greene has said repeatedly that she believes she would win. 'I am humbled and grateful by the massive statewide support that I have to run for governor, and if I wanted to run, we all know I would win,' she wrote Tuesday. 'It's not even debatable.' But Greene was the only winning Republican congressional candidate in Georgia to carry a smaller share of votes in her district than Trump in the 2024 election, an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found. In her social media post, she alleged that a 'very established 'Men Only' Republican firm is unfortunately overseeing the slow slide from red to blue' and that self interest is blocking the GOP from addressing real issues. 'As a woman, none of this appeals to me. As a mother, none of this appeals to me. As a lifelong Georgian and business owner, none of this appeals to me,' she said, adding that 'a lot women' agree.
