Crossover Day at the State Capitol
Electoral reform laws are the focus of Crossover Day under the Gold Dome.
ATLANTA – – Georgia governor Geoff Duncan said Monday he would not seek a second term.
The Georgia Republican said he was focused on building the future of the GOP.
“It always feels coldest just before the sun comes up,” Duncan said in a statement. “I believe this is exactly where the Republican Party is trapped and I am determined to be part of creating better days for our Conservative Party across the country.”
Duncan said national events affected his family in ways he could not imagine. Georgia has been in the national spotlight during the runoff election for both seats in the Senate of Georgia, controversial franchise reform in Georgia and the introduction of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONNECTED: Georgia governor Geoff Duncan says he will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2022
“In all the ups and downs of the past six months, they have never left my side and are once again united behind me to find a better way for our Conservative Party – a GOP 2.0,” he wrote.
Duncan said he was determined to end his term and looked forward to the fall special session and the 2022 legislature starting January.
Elected in 2018, Duncan was one of the first and most famous Republicans in Georgia to break with former President Donald Trump and the state’s Republican Party by suppressing Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud in a series of national television interviews. Duncan said the misinformation spread by Trump would hurt Republicans’ chances in two U.S. Senate runoff elections held in January, which would further sweep Democrats and give them control of the chamber.
On the day of the Capital Riots, January 6, Ducan called for the unanimous support of the electoral college votes in the US House and Senate.
Duncan has also broken with fellow Republicans over changes to Georgian electoral law resulting from Trump’s false claims.
The electoral reform law triggers a debate in the state capital
Legislators responded to an electoral reform bill that required voters to produce ID to request a postal vote in future elections. One lawmaker was moved to tears when he spoke out against the bill.
The law adds restrictions to postal voting, exempts the State Secretary from chairing the State Electoral Committee and, among other things, gives the GOP-controlled executive board the option of removing and replacing local election officials.
In early March, Duncan refused to open a Senate debate on a GOP-backed proposal that would severely limit who can vote absent in the mail instead of seeing them in their office on TV. The provision was not included in the final version of the law that became law.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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