Georgia Republican backs Biden, blasts those in party who ‘fall in line’ with Trump

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) revealed Monday he would be backing President Biden in November’s election and criticized other Republicans who “fall in line” with former President Trump.

In an op-ed published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday, Duncan wrote it is “disappointing to watch an increasing number of Republicans fall in line behind” Trump.

He said that he is left with no choice but to support Biden instead of the presumptive Republican nominee, whom he described as “a man who has disqualified himself through his conduct and his character.”

“But the GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden. At the same time, we should work to elect GOP congressional majorities to block his second-term legislative agenda and provide a check and balance,” Duncan wrote.

Duncan listed Trump’s New York hush money case as one of the reasons that he will not be supporting him. He also hit Trump over promoting “unfounded conspiracy theories that led to the horrific events of Jan. 6, 2021.”

Duncan, who was seen as a potential third-party presidential candidate for a time, also took aim at Trump and his allies for being connected to fake elector schemes across the country after the 2020 election.

He said some “reluctant Trump supporters” will argue that they support Trump due to policy differences with Biden or will point to “the sense of chaos sweeping the nation right now” at college campuses. Duncan pushed back on those arguments, saying Trump’s last year in office “was hardly a time of tranquility.”

“Trump has shown us who he is. We should believe him. To think he is going to change at the age of 77 is beyond improbable,” Duncan wrote.

He concluded his piece by noting he has been in the Republican Party his entire life but will still vote for Biden.

“Unlike Trump, I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” he said.

Duncan was floated as a possible candidate for No Labels — a political organization that was pursuing the idea of putting forward a bipartisan unity ticket. He said in March that he withdrew his name from consideration on the No Labels ticket.

No Labels announced last month that it would not be pursuing a unity ticket after failing to find a candidate.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.