Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) on Sunday decried former President Trump’s “divisive tone and strategy” while criticizing a bill in the battleground state that would end no-excuse absentee voting.
Last week, Duncan refused to preside over a session of the state Senate amid lawmakers considering a bill that would sharply restrict absentee ballot voting. The legislation survived a key procedural step, with the Georgia Senate voting to advance the omnibus election legislation.
Duncan, who refused to play along with Trump’s election fraud falsehoods amid the then-President’s refusal to concede, argued that Republicans aren’t in need of election reform to win more elections as he took aim at the former president’s “divisive” rhetoric during an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“We need leadership. I think there’s millions of Republicans waking up around the country that are realizing that Donald Trump’s divisive tone and strategy is unwinnable in forward-looking elections,” Duncan said. “We need real leadership, we need new focus, a GOP 2.0 that includes moderates in the middle, to get us to the next election cycle.”
After saying that misinformation on the election process prompted Republicans to lose credibility when it comes to discussions around election reform, Duncan added that the deadly Capitol insurrection earlier this year was a “pivot point” for the country and the GOP. Duncan then urged his party against taking on “a divisive tone” to win back the White House.
“We’re the party of solutions, and we need to make sure we stay focused on that over the next four years,” Duncan said.
Duncan went on to say that he was “disgusted” by a newly surfaced recording of a call Trump had with a top elections investigator in Georgia. The call was another episode in Trump’s desperate attempts to overturn the election results in the battleground state, several days before his infamous call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Duncan also denied that he plans to launch a Senate run.
“We’re going to focus hard on trying to rebuild this party and refocus GOP 2.0.,” Duncan said.
Watch Duncan’s remarks below:
WATCH: Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia @GeoffDuncan says “Republicans don’t need election reforms to win, we need leadership.” #MTP
Duncan: “We need new focus, [a] GOP 2.0, that includes moderates in the middle to get us to the next election.” pic.twitter.com/TmPSoK1DZC
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 14, 2021
