Georgia lieutenant governor visits NH pitching idea of 'GOP 2.0' after fighting Trump on election results
A Republican who fought former President Donald Trump over the results of the 2020 election has now called for a reboot of the Republican Party. Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan could end up in the mix of contenders for president in 2024.
The next few years will reveal the level of demand for a conservative Republican leader who is not aligned with Trump. Duncan tested those waters at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on Tuesday night, where he delivered a speech.
It is not often a lieutenant governor becomes a national figure. But, in Georgia late last year, Duncan found himself in the middle of a nationwide political firestorm, when then-President Trump refused to accept defeat in the 2020 election.
“I voted for Donald Trump and campaigned for him and certainly like other Republicans, I felt there was a better way to do this, but he lost. And I watched the facts play out in Georgia. Honesty, in my opinion, is the number one policy position to have, so I was honest,” Duncan said.
The lieutenant governor refused to go along with efforts to overturn the results of the election in Georgia. That alienated him from the pro-Trump base of his party, but also inspired him to launch the concept of what he calls, “GOP 2.0.”
“It’s a safe place to call home for commonsense conservatives like myself that really, truly believe conservative principles matter,” he said. “And they’re the best way to run your family, to run your business, to live in a community.”
An effort to separate the Republican and Trump brands might be easier said than done right now, but Duncan said he is playing the long game. News 9 asked him directly if there was a chance for him to make a presidential bid.
“Well, I’m focused on healing and rebuilding the party right now. If you looked at my to-do list every day of what I have to do in all 50 states and the people I’ve got to talk to, I’m certainly consumed with trying to heal and rebuild the party, and we’re going to be in a process of trying to figure out who’s the best leader,” Duncan said.