Geoff Duncan plans to use the “full strength of the law” to fight against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids if elected as the first Democratic governor to lead Georgia in more than two decades.
The former lieutenant governor’s remarks come as national attention has been focused on ICE activity across the country, but particularly in Minnesota. Protests have rocked Minneapolis amid a massive immigration crackdown that also resulted in the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. Although immigration was seen as a winning issue for President Donald Trump in 2024, recent polling shows majorities of Americans disapprove of ICE’s conduct.
“I think it’s important to first recognize what these ICE raids are. They are not policy. They are just solely about fear and intimidation. It’s about dominance. And to me, it’s inhumane,” Duncan told Newsweek in an interview on Wednesday.
He added: “As governor we will not use any state assets to enforce or support these ICE raids as they play out. You will not see TV shots of state troopers driving down the interstate behind ICE officials trying to raid a Hyundai plant. I’ll use the courts to the best of our ability. I think we’ve seen the courts are not perfect, but they have been effective. “
Beyond ICE, however, the Democratic contender says his focus in the 2026 race is “the affordability crisis, the healthcare crisis and the Donald Trump crisis.”
Duncan previously served under Georgia’s current GOP Governor Brian Kemp as a Republican himself from 2019 to 2023. However, in the aftermath of the 2020 election, he soured publicly on the GOP and Trump as the president peddled unfounded claims of voter fraud in Georgia and across the country. After becoming a prominent Trump critic, he decided against seeking reelection—although he maintains he would have won—and officially switched his party affiliation to become a Democrat last year.
“I didn’t run again for reelection not because I couldn’t win as lieutenant governor, but because I was embarrassed to call myself a Republican. I was embarrassed to be expected to walk by that homeless person and do nothing but blame them. I was embarrassed to drive by that hospital parking lot and see those families deciding whether or not they stay in the car and deal with their own medical issues or they go in and bankrupt themselves. It was embarrassing to walk by another television screen and watch a mass shooting play out and be expected to make an excuse why we’re not passing gun legislation,” he said.
Duncan said his decision to switch parties and turn against Trump has cost him and his family.
“Our family continues to be ostracized, and our kids continue to get picked on, and it just continues to a heavy weight,” the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said. “But it’s the right thing to do. It truly is the right thing for us to do.”
The former Republican is running in a crowded Democratic field, which includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Chief Executive of DeKalb County Michael Thurmond, former state Senator Jason Esteves, state Representative Derrick Jackson, state Representative Ruwa Romman and church founder Olujimi Brown. While polling from last year shows Bottoms as an early frontrunner in the Democratic primary, Duncan believes he’s best positioned to win in a general election in Georgia.
“You have to win more than the base,” he said. “I think I’m the only candidate in the race on the Democratic primary side that’s building a big enough coalition between Democrats, independents, and this growing batch of disgusted Republicans to show up and not only vote for me in November of 26 but also vote for other Democrats up and down the ballot.”
Duncan spoke with Newsweek in an exclusive Zoom interview on Wednesday, discussing his vision for Georgia, how he plans to win and how he’ll take a stand against the Trump administration. The interview transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Full Transcript of Geoff Duncan Interview
Newsweek: As you’re aware, a Democrat has not won the governorship in Georgia in over two decades. Why do you think you’re the best candidate to change that?
Geoff Duncan: You’re right. It’s been nearly 30 years since Roy Barnes got sworn in in 1998. And I think as I go around the state, Democrats have different reasons why they think that’s the case. But the one big reason is they just haven’t got enough votes, right? It’s pretty obvious. And to win a governorship in Georgia, you have to win more than the base. And that’s certainly been proven out over the last few decades. I think I’m the only candidate in the race, on the Democratic primary side, that’s building a big enough coalition between Democrats, independents and this growing batch of disgusted Republicans to show up and not only vote for me in November of ’26 but also vote for other Democrats up and down the ballot.
What would you say is your main message to voters?
I think we have to be focused on the issues that matter to most Georgians. Eighty-plus percent of Georgians probably wake up worried about the same three things every day, including Republicans. And that’s the affordability crisis, the healthcare crisis and the Donald Trump crisis. All of that is real time in everybody’s lives. The affordability crisis is more than a buzzword, it’s real. Whether somebody’s living check-to-check or owns a business, they’re being affected in a negative way, significantly negative way.
The healthcare crisis, everybody’s being faced with some sort of tsunami of premiums, whether it be ACA [Affordable Care Act] subsidies are being pulled away. Whether their actual premiums like my family’s—nearly $3,000 a month—or they’re being removed from the Medicaid rolls, it is a crisis of epic proportion and the Donald Trump crisis. I mean pick your hour of the day. I mean whether it’s he wants to take Greenland, he wants to steal oil from Venezuela, he wants to weaponize the Department of Justice—none of that is attacking those problems that are really happening in people’s lives. So, the story is staying disciplined and focused is not only a way to win this race, but it’s also a way of government effectively.
You touched on the fact that you believe you’re the better candidate among the Democrats to win. Can you talk a bit more about that? Why specifically do you think that you stand out from the rest of the Democrats?
First and foremost, I think Georgia’s Democrats are wired differently than the national Democrats—the national Democratic platform. I think Georgia’s Democrats are much more moderate minded. I think my tone and my approach to policy and politics has always been very moderate minded. But also, I really think there’s this huge focus on Democrats are ready to win. And they’re ready to stay focused on those issues that matter and not get sucked into the vortex of culture wars.
It doesn’t mean we disrespect or discriminate or don’t listen to some of those other issues. I think we just have to stay focussed and disciplined. And so I think folks are coming my way for multiple reasons but two primary ones being more moderate is I think definitely a magnet for many. And also being the winnability argument is hard to beat down. I have the absolute best chance of any Democrat in this race to beat [Republican governor candidate and current Lieutenant Governor] Burt Jones, who will most likely be the Republican nominee. I think folks are waking up realizing how bad that is. Electing Burt Jones as your next governor is essentially electing Donald Trump as your governor. He’ll hand the keys over to Trump, and Trump will run our schools and our streets and our budget and just do what Trump does.
You previously won statewide as lieutenant governor and served under Brian Kemp. What is your assessment of Brian Kemp’s tenure as governor? What would be some of the good things that you think he may have done as well as some of the bad things?
Certainly there’s been some great economic growth in this state over the last decade. We’ve seen that come and I hope to continue to not only see continued growth, but more expanded growth in 159 counties. I think that’s an important focus of mine is not just letting Atlanta succeed or a couple of smaller pockets succeed, but really try to look for those opportunities to drive those economic development opportunities deeper in.
I think we can do a much better job with our public education system. I think can be intentional about how we invest in public education and reform this 40-year-old QBE formula. I think it’s time to expand Medicaid. As a former Republican, I’ve literally looked at every possible idea to make our healthcare system better in Georgia. And the only way to improve what we’re currently facing is to expand Medicaid. I think that’s an area of opportunity. I think passing common sense gun legislation is a huge opportunity for us. A majority of Georgians, including Republicans, support common sense gun legislation that does universal background checks, red flag laws, in-home safe storage laws. Georgia is headed in a good direction, but I think we have an opportunity with some adjustments to go in a great direction.
You’re now a Democrat. You didn’t seek reelection as lieutenant governor as a Republican. Can you talk a bit about how you landed where you are now?
A lot of folks pat me on the back and appreciate me standing up to Donald Trump in 2020 when he tried to steal our election. But I remind them very quickly that I think almost every American would have done the same exact thing. I don’t think anything I did was unique or different. I think it was just being an American, an act of being an American, an honest American. I didn’t run again for reelection not because I couldn’t win as lieutenant governor, but because I was embarrassed to call myself a Republican.
I was embarrassed to be expected to walk by that homeless person and do nothing but blame them. I was embarrassed to drive by that hospital parking lot and see those families deciding whether or not they stay in the car and deal with their own medical issues or they go in and bankrupt themselves. I was embarrassed to walk by another television screen and watch a mass shooting play out and be expected to make an excuse why we’re not passing gun legislation.
So there was more reasons than Donald Trump why I decided to switch parties. And some folks will ask me, ‘Geoff, have you lost your mind?’ And the answer is, ‘No, I found my heart.’ I think there’s a better way to solve problems and the Democratic Party is not perfect. I think all would admit that. But they certainly give me a better toolkit to serve the needs of Georgians.
I’m sure some people have already said that they may see your decision as a bit of political opportunism to switch parties to Democratic. What would be your response to criticisms like that?
I get asked often, ‘Geoff, why are you running for governor as a Democrat?’ And the answer is not because it’s easy, not because a political consultant told me it was the right path to take, because I can assure you that didn’t happen. And I can ensure you it’s not that it hasn’t come without a price. I mean, our family continues to be ostracized, and our kids continue to get picked on, and it just continues to be a heavy weight. But it’s the right thing to do. It truly is the right thing for us to do. And we’ll continue to push forward.
This is a heartfelt opportunity for me to get this right. As I walk into rooms, I don’t make excuses. I simply share with folks the journey I’ve been on, which has been a very public journey. Over the last five years. I’ve been on television, CNN specifically, 250 times probably or more. I’ve written 50 opinion columns for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I’ve given speeches around the country. It’s been a very public journey of me owning some of the mistakes that I made as an early Republican. Now I’ve got the chance to get it right.
There are some folks who are now critical of Trump, who have left the Republican Party, who say things like, ‘I didn’t change, the Republican Party changed,’ but it seems almost to me that in your case, you did actually change, or at least you evolved significantly in a lot of your views. Can you talk a bit about how that process happened?
I’ve been pretty public about this. In fact, in the opinion piece that I wrote that really told folks that I was switching parties, it was really rooted in my faith. I’m not one to get up in front of a crowd and quote Bible verses. I try to live it out day-to-day. And a lot of this came down to my faith, it became impossible to genuinely love my neighbor as a Republican. There was too many asterisk marks. My neighbor didn’t look like me, act like me, love like me, talk like me, or vote like me. It really was kind of on an excluded list of folks I should love.
As a Democrat, I don’t have those restrictions. I can sit there, even if I disagree with somebody, I’m still expected to love them and figure out how to solve their problems. I think that’s the magnetic force that draws me into this job as governor is it really gives us a great opportunity in Georgia. To take the veins of state government and aim them more towards the people that need it the most instead of away from, you know, towards those that probably need it the least. And I think that’s the opportunity we’ve got.
We’ve gotten almost 8,000 contributions, small dollar contributions from all 50 states. That tells me that it’s because people around the country are watching Georgia and seeing if we can get this right. If we can elect a Democrat, take the reins away from Donald Trump, slash Burt Jones, slash the MAGA influence crowd and really put this in a common-sense decision-making mode. I’m encouraged to see the rest of the country watching us. And I hope we’re able to win this race and put a permission structure in place that allows other states to follow our lead in their local races, their state races and their federal races.
On the national stage, Democrats—according to a lot of polling data—are historically unpopular, at least the Democratic leadership. What is your assessment of the Democrats leading on the national stage right now? Do you think there are things they should be doing differently?
I think politics is local. I think that’s been a lesson I’ve learned over the years. As local as you can get, as close to the voters you can possibly get. I think every state’s different. Every region’s different. I know Georgia’s Democrats are probably wired differently than New York Democrats or California Democrats or Texas Democrats. I think this is a race that we’re focused on, Georgia and Georgia’s issues. And to me, that’s the most important way for Democrats to really get their stride back is to really bring this away from these national hot button issues, really focusing on these issues that matter most and I keep coming back to this, affordability, healthcare, and Donald Trump.
Those are the three things that folks worry about the most, including Republicans. I think this is the moment in time where if Democrats are able to open this tent up big enough, not only here in Georgia, but around the country. I think this is the moment in time that history will point back to. This is where Democrats really turned the corner and created not just an election cycle that was a tailwind, but really a long, extended, decades-long opportunity to really set policies in place that truly do earn the respect and win the hearts and minds of voters all across the country. That to me is this opportunity I see Democrats sitting in right now.
One of the big domestic issues that’s constantly in the news right now is ICE—a lot of what’s going on in Minneapolis, but across the country as well. As governor, you would have a big role in responding to that in Georgia. How would you handle a situation like we’re seeing play out in Minnesota?
I think it’s important to first recognize what these ICE raids are. They are not policy. They are just solely about fear and intimidation. It’s about dominance. And to me, it’s inhumane. It’s un-American. It certainly does not match the fiber of this country’s soul. And so to watch these play out so Kristi Noem can get a five-second soundbite on Twitter, or so Donald Trump can just continue to spew hate and division—it’s terrible to watch play out.
As governor we will not use any state assets to enforce or support these ICE raids as they play out. You will not see TV shots of state troopers driving down the interstate behind ICE officials trying to raid a Hyundai plant. I’ll use the courts to the best of our ability. I think we’ve seen the courts are not perfect, but they have been effective. We’ve seen Governor Newsom [of California], Governor Pritzker [of Illinois], and others use the court. I will use the full strength of the law to push back on whether it be ICE raids or putting National Guard troops in our streets when they’re not necessary, but just for the purpose of creating division.
You’ve talked about healthcare and affordability. Presumably, you might be working with a Republican state legislature as governor. How would you approach that? And are you confident that you could push through some of these healthcare and affordability initiatives with that potential opposition?
I’ve been behind the curtain. I’ve had these private conversations with Republicans for years, and I can tell you that they’re a lot closer to Democrats than they want to admit. I know very few Republicans that genuinely, honestly, think Donald Trump’s doing a good job. I have very few Republicans that don’t think expanding Medicaid doesn’t make sense. I have a very few Republican friends that don’t think passing common sense gun legislation doesn’t make sense. As a democratic governor, if they want to blame me for it and still show up to their voting booth and do the right thing, so be it. I’ll take the blame for it, just as long as we do the right thing.
This is an opportunity. There’s a lot of Republican moderates that might be one social issue away from wanting to publicly call themselves a Democrat. I think we have to be okay with that because as long as we cultivate a discussion and turn the chaos around these issues, these hot button issues in the conversations, I think that’s an opportunity for us to grow our tent. I anticipate when I win this race, not just to be about me winning the governorship, it’s about other Democrats up and down the ballot winning too—state House margins getting tightened, state Senate margins getting tight and other statewide officials getting elected. And so we show up with this broader group discussion instead of it just being dominated by Donald Trump’s opinion from the bully pulpit.
You were one of the leading voices in 2020 pushing back against Trump’s election claims. Now, what we’re seeing from the Trump administration is pardoning of these January 6th rioters, and what is essentially a push to change history in terms of what happened after the 2020 election and January 6. How are you viewing all of that as a major player in that whole situation?
I think it’s, one, important to continue to tell the truth. Last week, I was in Washington, D.C., or two weeks ago, testifying in front of the January 6th committee, making sure that we continue to put on record what the truth is, what the truth was. I don’t believe history is going to be kind to Donald Trump. I don’t think history is gonna be kind to January 6 or the MAGA movement or the insurrection that played out. I think for me, it’s important for us to tell the truth so that something like that never happens again. And that’s the worry.
Donald Trump is making the hardest effort to try to whitewash history. And it’s wrong. And I think that’s really what he’s about. He’s trying to erase the facts and the details of what played out there. Donald Trump tried to steal an election, that simple. And it didn’t work. Unfortunately, he came back and was reelected, but he did not win the 2020 election no matter how bad he kicks and screams, no matter how much he stirs up hate and chaos and division, no matter how many lies he spews, how many pardons he gives. He tried to steal an election and he wasn’t successful.
You talked a bit about the toll that your departure from Trump and the GOP has taken on your family. What we’ve seen in the past year is the Trump administration using the DOJ to go after some of his critics or people that took stands against him legally. Is that something that you’re concerned could target you and your family?
We just stay focused on telling the truth and doing the right thing. And every day we’re challenging ourselves as a family to do the right thing because it’s never the wrong thing. That’s the phrase that we use. And so just continuing to work hard. I wish my focus could be 1,000 percent on just Georgians. Unfortunately, we’re having to push back on some of these Trump moves with tariffs, with weaponizing the Department of Justice, with things like stealing the oil from Venezuela, trying to conquer Greenland, trying to put synthetic tariffs on Europe because they’re just not agreeing with Donald Trump. Those are the issues that we have to make sure that we still stay focused on. Georgians wake up worried about the same three things. I know you’re tired of hearing it, but affordability, healthcare and Donald Trump. And to me, that’s my focus each and every day.
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