Outgoing Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R) told CNN on Wednesday that he couldn’t bring himself to vote for either Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) or Herschel Walker.
“I showed up to vote this morning. I was one of those folks who got in line and spent about an hour waiting. And you know, it was the most disappointing ballot I’ve ever stared at my entire life since I started voting. You know, I had two candidates that I just couldn’t find anything that made sense for me to put my vote behind and so I walked out of that ballot box, showing up to vote, but not voting for either one of them,” Duncan said.
A little later in the interview, he said, “I think I’m in the same spot that hundreds of thousands of other Republicans, and millions across the country, are in, right? We just want real leadership to navigate us through the mess and mire of what we’re seeing play out in Washington, D.C.”
He said Walker missed opportunities to show leadership.
“One was: push back on Donald Trump and the whole fake election narrative. Secondly, when Nick Fuentes did what he did with Donald Trump and took the dinner meeting, push back on that instead of hitting the mute button,” Duncan said. “Those were ways to convince the suburbs that you were a serious player that didn’t want to be Donald Trump’s puppet.”
Duncan’s term in office is expiring after he declined to run for re-election; he’ll be replaced by Republican Burt Jones. Several Republicans blasted Duncan for not supporting the party nominee.
“First, I am glad he didn’t vote. That’s one less vote for Warnock,” state Senator Brandon Beach (R-Cherokee) said. “Second, in the NFL draft, the last player taken in the draft is called ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’ Geoff Duncan is ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ in Georgia politics.”
Radio host Brian Pritchard, who has announced his candidacy for a special election to Georgia’s Senate, said Republicans all the way up to the top of the national party apparatus should distance themselves from Duncan.
“He can hate Trump all day long. It’s America. If he wants to hate Trump, let him hate Trump, okay. But at the end of the day, don’t tell me you were a Republican and you couldn’t vote for Herschel Walker,” Pritchard said.
“I think [Georgia GOP Chair] David Shafer should say, ‘This guy is no longer a Republican.’ And Republicans should censure him, and they should censure him immediately,” he said.
Shafer didn’t answer a request for comment, but other Georgia Republicans seemed uninterested in censuring Duncan.
“I think that’s kind of a wasted effort. Duncan’s going away,” former state Representative Jeff Jones said. “He did not run. He’s not on the ballot. I think the less attention we give to Geoff Duncan, the better off for the state of Georgia, and the Republican Party. Just let him go off into the sunset.”
Jones said, “I think he’s trying to create a little publicity for himself. You know, looking for a job, perhaps as a media guy, whatever, pundit. That’s what this is about I think.”
The Georgia Star’s Publisher John Fredericks said, “Once again, CosmoMan Geoff Duncan, who was eight percent in the polls when he tried to run for re-election, perpetuates his clown show of being Georgia’s number one Republican never-Trumper. No one cares what he says. This is all for show, and he ran right to CNN headquarters so he can get his last minute of fame before he fades off into political oblivion.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Geoff Duncan” by CNN.
