Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, one of the most vocal state-level Republican critics against former President Donald Trump’s claims of 2020 election fraud, announced on Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2022.
“It always feels coldest right before the sun rises,” Duncan said in a statement posted to Twitter. “I believe that this is the exact moment in time the Republican Party is caught in right now, and I am committed to being a part of creating those better days ahead for our conservative party all across this country.”
Duncan also said that he plans to serve out the rest of his term, which will conclude in January 2023, noting how he has “no intention of slowing down on my policy over politics reform.”
The Republican also announced he would begin devoting more energy to an organization called “GOP 2.0,” which he said will focus on “healing and rebuilding a Republican Party that is damaged but not destroyed through a strategy called P.E.T. Project.”
“GOP 2.0 will work hard every day reminding Americans the value of conservative Policies through genuine Empathy and a respectful Tone,” he said.
Trump lost the state of Georgia by less than 1 percentage point in November. To this day, the former president decries the election as illegitimate and stolen from him by Democrats. The Trump campaign filed several legal challenges to the Georgia vote but abruptly dropped them on Jan. 7, the day after a mob of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
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“It troubles me that some folks are willing, just for the sole intent of flipping an election, of spreading misinformation,” Duncan said of the fraud claims during a November interview with CNN.
“I look forward to working with the Senate during the upcoming Redistricting special session this fall and the 2022 legislative session starting in January,” Duncan added in his statement. “Our office will continue to go to work each and every day looking for ways to positively affect the lives of all 11 million Georgians.”
