Why Georgia’s former Republican lieutenant governor is voting for Joe Biden

But the GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden. At the same time, we should work to elect Republican majorities to Congress to block his second-term legislative agenda and provide checks and balances.

The alternative is another term for Trump, a man who has disqualified himself by his conduct and character. Headlines are making headlines with his secret trial over allegations he improperly kept payment records to conceal an affair with an adult film star.

Most importantly, Trump has fanned the flames of baseless conspiracy theories that led to the horrific events of January 6, 2021. He refuses to admit he lost the last election and has hinted he might do so again after the next one.

Credit: contributed

Credit: contributed

Those who hold their noses and fall behind Trump tend to rely on similar arguments. Sometimes that involves, as Barr said in his CNN interview, “a duty to choose the person who I think would do the least damage to the country.”

Ironically, after serving as attorney general until December 2020, Barr saw first-hand Trump’s capacity to cause damage. Barr’s statement that the U.S. Department of Justice has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election infuriated his boss and set off a chain of events that ended on June 6 January.

Trump and his allies hatched wild schemes that included fake voter lists and led to indictments (so far) in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. They spread wild conspiracy theories that resulted in defamation lawsuits, including a $148 million verdict against former Trump lawyer and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Other reluctant Trump supporters will discuss their political differences with Biden. Or Trump’s accomplishments as president, ranging from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to three appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. Or they will highlight the sense of chaos currently gripping the nation, including widespread anti-Israel protests on college campuses.

I understand. No one likes paying higher taxes, and these protests are troubling. But the final year of the Trump presidency has hardly been a quiet time. His management of the pandemic has been erratic, even considering at one point to consume disinfectants. His use of inflammatory phrases such as “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” fueled racial unrest. His infamous march to St. John’s Episcopal Church, across the street from the White House, flanked by top aides (including Barr) and brandishing a Bible, further inflamed the nation.

Trump has shown us who he is. We should believe it. To think that he will change at 77 is more than improbable.

Yet each new day increases the possibility of a second Trump presidency. Voters’ memories are short. A new CNN survey shows that a majority (55%) of all Americans view Trump’s presidency as a success, while 44% view it as a failure. Compare that with Biden, whom only 39% call a success, compared to 61% who think his term was a failure. The same poll shows Trump with a 6-point lead in national polls over Biden, whose approval rating (38%) is well below the 50% threshold for re-elected incumbent presidents.

The situation is just as grim in the battleground states that will determine the next occupant of the White House. A recent Wall Street Journal poll shows Trump leading in six of those seven states. If these results are confirmed, he will have enough electoral votes for a second term.

The healing of the Republican Party cannot begin with Trump as president (and that’s not counting the incalculable damage that could potentially await our country). An upcoming Time magazine cover story lays out in stark terms “the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world.”

Unlike Trump, I have belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I’m voting for an honest person with whom I disagree on policy toward a criminal defendant without a moral compass.

CNN contributor Geoff Duncan served as lieutenant governor of Georgia from 2019 to 2023. He is a former professional baseball player and the author of “GOP 2.0: How the 2020 elections can lead to a better path forward for America’s Conservative Party.”