Colonel William A. Phillips

Geoffrey L. Duncan (born April 1, 1975) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 12th lieutenant Governor of Georgia from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Duncan is a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives.

After playing college baseball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Duncan played professional baseball for six years until a shoulder injury forced him to retire. He went into business and was elected to the Georgia House in 2012. Duncan was elected lieutenant governor in 2018, but he did not seek re-election in 2022, with fellow Republican Burt Jones being elected to replace him.[1]

In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Duncan was among the few Republican Party officials who openly and outspokenly criticized Donald Trump for falsely claiming the election was stolen. After leaving office, Duncan became a political commentator on CNN.

Career

Baseball

Duncan attended Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he played college baseball for the Yellow Jackets. He played in the 1994 College World Series with Georgia Tech, losing in the final round.[2] In 1995, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3][4] Duncan played in Minor League Baseball for the Florida Marlins organization from 1996 through 2000, reaching Triple-A, when a shoulder injury ended his career.[5] Duncan retired from baseball and went into business.[6]

Business

After retiring from baseball, Duncan became chief executive officer for Wellview Health, a healthcare and wellness company.[7]

Politics

Duncan was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012.[8]

Duncan announced he would run for lieutenant governor of Georgia on April 10, 2017.[9] He resigned from the Georgia House in September 2017 to focus on running for lieutenant governor in 2018.[10][11]

On May 22, 2018, David Shafer received 48.9% of the vote in the Republican primary with Duncan coming in second place with 26.6%. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, the election then went to a runoff held on July 24.[12] The runoff election focused largely on Shafer's record at the capitol and a number of ethical questions surrounding his candidacy.[13] On July 24, Duncan defeated Shafer with 50.16% of the vote.[14] He defeated Democratic nominee Sarah Riggs Amico in the general election, receiving nearly 52% of the vote and avoiding another runoff.[15]

Duncan was inaugurated lieutenant governor on January 14, 2019.[16] On December 6, 2020, Duncan and Governor Brian Kemp put out a joint statement explaining that calling a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly to appoint their own electors to send to the United States Electoral College would be unconstitutional.[17]

Following unsuccessful efforts to overturn the election of Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, in March 2021 Georgia Republicans enacted the controversial Election Integrity Act of 2021 that imposed new restrictions on voting. Days later, Duncan said during a CNN interview that momentum for the legislation grew from "the fallout from the ten weeks of misinformation that flew in from former President Donald Trump. I went back over the weekend to really look at where this really started to gain momentum in the legislature, and it was when Rudy Giuliani showed up in a couple of committee rooms and spent hours spreading misinformation and sowing doubt across, you know, hours of testimony."[18]

In April 2021, Duncan's chief of staff stated that he was unlikely to run for a second term, after he openly contradicted false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. His chief of staff added that Duncan had yet to make a final decision about whether to run again in 2022.[19] On May 17, 2021, Duncan announced that he would not be seeking a second term.[20]

An October 2021 trip to New Hampshire to promote his book GOP 2.0, which outlines plans for a post-Trump future for the Republican Party, fueled speculation in his home state that Duncan may be positioning himself to run for president in 2024.[21][22]

Duncan said he did not vote for either Raphael Warnock or Herschel Walker in the 2022 U.S. Senate election.[23]

Personal life

Duncan and his wife Brooke have three sons. They live in Cumming, Georgia.[24]

Electoral history

Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial Republican primary, 2018[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Shafer 268,221 48.91
Republican Geoff Duncan 146,163 26.65
Republican Rick Jeffares 134,047 24.44
Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial Republican primary runoff, 2018[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Geoff Duncan 280,465 50.14
Republican David Shafer 278,868 49.86
Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Geoff Duncan 1,951,738 51.63
Democratic Sarah Riggs Amico 1,828,566 48.37

Bibliography

  • GOP 2.0 (2021)

References

  1. ^ Prabhu, Maya T. "Republican Burt Jones wins Georgia lieutenant governor race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Means, Laura (Summer 2019). "From Baseball's Star to the State's Second in Command: Geoff Duncan, Cls 97, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia". www.gtalumni.org.
  3. ^ Maclone, Justin (August 1, 1995). "Cards Holding Steady in Second". The Cape Codder. Orleans, MA. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Player Stats". Cape Cod Baseball League. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "Former Pro Baseball Player and Businessman Geoff Duncan Qualifies | Alpharetta, GA Patch". Patch.com. March 8, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Ruberti, Melanie (April 15, 2018). "Former pro pitcher taking aim at Lt. Governor's seat". Newnan Times-Herald. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  7. ^ "Wellview Health adds CEO, executive VP". Nashville Post. April 28, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  8. ^ Bluestein, Greg (November 18, 2016). "Former pro baseball player turned Georgia legislator makes pitch for higher office". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  9. ^ Oldham, Robert (April 10, 2017). "State Rep. Geoff Duncan is Running for Lieutenant Governor". GeorgiaPol. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  10. ^ Bluestein, Greg (August 28, 2017). "Duncan resigns to focus on LG bid—and slams Shafer 'charade'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Hughes, Isabel (May 3, 2017). "Businessman announces candidacy to replace District 26 state Rep. Geoff Duncan". Forsyth County News. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  12. ^ "Election Night Reporting". Results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  13. ^ Salzer, James (March 9, 2018). "Georgia legislator accused of sexual harassment by lobbyist". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  14. ^ Darnell, Tim (August 2, 2018). "No recount in GOP lieutenant governor's runoff; Duncan declares victory". WXIA-TV. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "Geoff Duncan set to become first-ever Georgia lieutenant governor from Forsyth County". www.forsythnews.com.
  16. ^ "Brian Kemp sworn in as 83rd Governor of Georgia". www.wtvm.com. January 15, 2019.
  17. ^ "Gov. Kemp, Lt. Gov. Duncan say no to special session over election, explain why". 11Alive.com. December 7, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  18. ^ Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason (April 7, 2021). "Georgia's GOP lieutenant governor says Giuliani's false fraud claims helped lead to restrictive voting law". CNN.
  19. ^ "Georgia Lt. Gov. unlikely to run again after taking on Trump". AP NEWS. April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Bluestein, Greg (May 17, 2021). "Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Trump critic, will not run for a second term in 2022". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Murphy, Patricia; Mitchell, Tia; Bluestein, Greg (October 20, 2021). "The Jolt: Geoff Duncan for president?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  22. ^ Steinhauser, Paul (October 21, 2021). "GOP's 'short term sugar high in Donald Trump' won't last, Georgia's Republican lt. gov. predicts". Fox News.
  23. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (December 1, 2022). "Republican Georgia lieutenant governor says he couldn't vote for Walker". The Hill. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  24. ^ Prabhu, Maya T. (January 14, 2019). "'Outsider' no more, Geoff Duncan set to be Georgia's lieutenant governor". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  25. ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  26. ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  27. ^ "November 6, 2018 General Election". GA – Election Night Reporting. Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2022.

External links

Georgia House of Representatives
Preceded by
Carl Rogers
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 26th district

2013–2017
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
2018
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
2019–2023
Succeeded by