Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

For Duncan, who weathered accusations of betraying his party long before he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, it’s the most significant escalation yet by pro-Trump factions seething over his embrace of the Democrat during last year’s campaign.

It is not clear what legal standing the committee has over Duncan, should he choose to challenge the resolution, which also “hereby expunged” Duncan’s GOP nomination as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and two terms in the Georgia House.

He told “Politically Georgia” Tuesday he was unpacking the state Executive Committee’s unanimous resolution, which included spicy language calling Duncan unworthy of the title of even a “nominal” Republican.

But the former lieutenant governor said he wasn’t sure himself whether he wanted to be called a Republican anymore, at least in Georgia, adding he doesn’t want to be linked with the “embarrassment” of the state GOP.

Duncan said he’d rather be labeled a “good, old-fashioned American” right now.

“Both sides have got some good positive directions, both sides have got some negative directions. And being an honest umpire, sitting in the middle, is a pretty good spot.”

Of the timing of the state party’s decision, he added a pointed barb to party heavyweights.

“What took them so long?”

‘Ousted and disgraced’

The move was hardly unexpected. Shortly before Duncan touted Harris at the Democratic National Convention last year, Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon condemned Duncan’s “self-serving and hypocritical behavior” and warned of the coming attempt to expel him.

The move capped a long, and still-raging, infighting between Georgia Republicans as the pro-Trump wing seeks to purge any remaining critics of the president-elect from within its ranks.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

One by one, over the last year, Kemp and other Republicans skeptical of Trump have made their peace with him. But not Duncan. The one-term former lieutenant governor used his platform to establish himself as one of the most prominent Republican backers of Harris.

He trekked around the nation to campaign for the vice president and gave an attention-grabbing speech at the Democratic convention on her behalf, cementing his transformation from Trump ally to lukewarm critic to outspoken opponent.

That metamorphosis began in 2020, after the then-president sought to overturn his defeat in Georgia’s election — and encouraged his allies to pressure Kemp, Duncan and other legislative leaders to call a special session that could have invalidated the results.

That widened an internal GOP schism that led Duncan to oppose efforts by Trump allies to restrict no-excuse absentee voting. He has also panned Republicans for rejecting “gun safety” efforts, such as an expansion of background checks for those purchasing firearms.

Duncan opted against running for a second term in 2022, when he would have faced a Trump-backed Republican rival. He said he would instead promote the more consensus-driven “GOP 2.0″ that he spelled out in a book.

But he still maintained a platform in politics. He refused to endorse Herschel Walker, the Trump-backed U.S. Senate nominee in 2022, and he also wouldn’t support the campaign of Burt Jones, who went on to succeed him as lieutenant governor. Both are Trump loyalists.

Duncan also retained a political megaphone through social media and stints as a CNN commentator and Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributor.

In early 2024, he flirted with the idea of launching a third-party bid for president, meeting with key donors and leaders of the No Labels movement. But he passed on a run in March, telling the AJC the “math got too personally difficult.”

Credit: Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP

Credit: Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP

The potential expulsion was met with applause from some of Georgia’s most prominent MAGA officials. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on social media that the “expelled, ousted and disgraced” Duncan might as well label himself as a Democrat.

Others were more circumspect on the fallout. Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist who was a deputy of former Gov. Nathan Deal, said most Republicans don’t care if Duncan is ousted from the party’s ranks.

“But for the activists who are very involved, it’s important to them,” said Robinson. “Endorsing a Democrat, particularly someone like Harris, is worthy of excommunication to the party’s activist base.”

There are a few recent high-profile examples in Georgia of similar purges. In 2017, Athens-Clarke County Democrats ousted then-Mayor Nancy Denson from the local party for supporting Houston Gaines, a GOP candidate for the Legislature.

And in early 2024, state and federal courts blocked an effort by the Catoosa County GOP from disqualifying four county-level candidates from running as Republicans engineered by activists who claimed they were not conservative enough.

Duncan told “Politically Georgia” that he’s still weighing how to respond, saying he’d rather “underreact than overreact” after receiving the email Monday amid packing up his Christmas decorations.

Nor has he made up his mind about whether he would seek office again, given Georgia’s volatile political landscape. But he was unsparing in his criticism of the state party.

“The Georgia GOP, with all due respect, has turned into a sock puppet for Donald Trump.”

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC