A known critic of former President Donald Trump thinks that those who are allied to the 45th president will lose their upcoming May primaries and that the party will move away from the America First movement.
“The quicker we get through the May primaries, the quicker we’re going to move past Donald Trump and close that chapter,” Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said of the former president.
Duncan, who was on Trump’s enemies list after the 2020 election that was marred with claims of election fraud, is not running for re-election.
Instead, he started a group called GOP 2.0. The group’s site does not offer much in the way of its goals, but Duncan does say it is his “PET” project. PET is an acronym, standing for Policy, Empathy and Tone, which Duncan thinks is the correct direction for the party.
He also launched an ad through the group bashing Trump ahead of the former president’s rally in the state in late March.
“We must focus on the future and rebuild our party,” the ad said. “But I’m not alone in believing there’s a better way forward. A conservative vision is needed now more than ever. It’s time for GOP 2.0.”
But Duncan could be underestimating Trump’s staying power.
Tuesday, Trump gloated after one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him over the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building announced that he would retire.
Fred Upton (R-MI-04) became the fourth Trump impeacher to announce that he will not seek re-election, as Trump has made it a point to endorse and actively support the primary opponents of his Republican enemies.
“UPTON QUITS! 4 down and 6 to go. Others losing badly, who’s next?” Trump said in a brief statement.
Georgia politicians who are seeking re-election are on the former president’s list, too.
Those targets include Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), both of whom, like Duncan, Trump feels did not do enough to support his post-election quest to expose voter fraud in the Peach State.
Trump has endorsed former Sen. David Perdue (R) to replace Kemp, and Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA-15) to replace Raffensperger.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Background photo “Buckhead skyline” by Kburkha2 CC BY-SA 4.0.
Guess jd really doesn’t understand yet what is going to happen, let me fill him in. You just relinquished the state to the a person who engineered and facilitated large scale ballot harvesting and I’m assuming with his allowances. That’s the only way I can see it. He focuses on Trump not the loyal republican voters of his state. His lack of consideration is his obvious weakness and he’s been used for purposes beyond his understanding.