{"id":770644,"date":"2021-09-16T20:43:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T00:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=770644"},"modified":"2021-09-16T20:48:44","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T00:48:44","slug":"georgias-republican-lt-governor-describes-how-to-restore-faith-in-elections-and-what-the-gop-must-do-to-win-in-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgias-republican-lt-governor-describes-how-to-restore-faith-in-elections-and-what-the-gop-must-do-to-win-in-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia\u2019s Republican Lt Governor Describes How To Restore Faith In Elections And What The GOP Must Do To Win In The Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgias-republican-lt-governor-describes-how-to-restore-faith-in-elections-and-what-the-gop-must-do-to-win-in-the-future%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=770644&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan described what the GOP must do to restore faith in elections and win in the future in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Duncan has come under harsh criticism from Trump and his top allies for his repeated, factual insistence that the 2020 election was not rigged, and that Republicans would be far better off focusing on how to win future elections than harping on recent defeats.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cWe have a culture problem where it\u2019s okay to be a sore loser instead of being a smart loser,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cIf we walk into every GOP meeting \u2026 and we try to figure out how to unpack policy, empathy and tone to the people we\u2019re trying to get to vote for us \u2026 we\u2019ll start winning again.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Republican Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has come under harsh, frequent criticism from former President Donald Trump and his allies in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>The criticism has stemmed from Duncan\u2019s repeated <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/12\/07\/republican-georgia-lt-gov-geoff-duncan-presidential-election-fair-legal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">insistence<\/a> that the 2020 election was not rigged, and that Republicans would be far better off focusing on how to win future elections than harping on recent defeats. In a phone interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, Duncan outlined not only why the GOP must move on to win in the months ahead, but how doing so may restore the lack of trust in elections themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInside our party, we have a culture problem where it\u2019s okay to be a sore loser instead of being a smart loser,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cIf we walk into every GOP meeting that\u2019s at a diner on Saturday mornings and we try to figure out how to unpack policy, empathy and tone to the people we\u2019re trying to get to vote for us, the [lack of trust] will start to correct itself, because we\u2019ll start winning again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duncan, whose framework is outlined in his book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/GOP-2-0\/Geoff-Duncan\/9781637630136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GOP 2.0: How the 2020 Election Can Lead to a Better Way Forward For America\u2019s Conservative Party<\/a>,\u201d argued that his plan, despite its seemingly aspirational nature, was not actually that far out of reach. He pointed out that President Joe Biden\u2019s victory in Georgia was incredibly narrow \u2014&nbsp; fewer than 12,000 votes \u2014 and that Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/01\/08\/david-perdue-concedes-jon-ossoff-georgia-senate-runoff-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">won its two Senate seats<\/a> in part because claims that the election was rigged dissuaded enough in the Republican base from voting.&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/01\/06\/trump-twitter-raphael-warnock-jon-ossoff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Trump Waged An All Out War Against Georgia Republicans Ahead Of The Runoffs, But Said Almost Nothing About Ossoff And Warnock)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7283547\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"34\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7283547\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7283547\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-scaled-1.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1289654828-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7283547\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former President and Melania Trump attend a rally in Georgia ahead of the twin Senate runoffs, which gave Democrats control of the chamber. (Spencer Platt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re having to learn here in Georgia what I hope the rest of the country doesn\u2019t have to learn,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cWe\u2019re hemorrhaging voters,\u201d Duncan said, who are with Republicans on the vast majority of issues. \u201cFolks are jumping ship because they\u2019re not with us on our tone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day there\u2019s not really that much separation between the former president and anybody else that\u2019s inside the Republican party as far as policies. It\u2019s how we deliver those policies that matters,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Duncan did say that he thought the election reform bills passed in a number of Republican states would help restore confidence in future contests, but noted that the one passed in Georgia \u2014 the first state to do so \u2014 was not a total remedy for restoring faith in elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe process really did work. There were a number of bipartisan ideas that came to the surface during the 10 weeks that really rose up to the top and were included in the final legislation,\u201d Duncan said, adding that while the legislation, which limits mail-in voting, eliminates most ballot drop boxes and sets statewide early voting standards, was \u201cnot a perfect bill,\u201d the only Republican who seemed upset by it was <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/19\/trump-georgia-republican-voting-bill-kemp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump himself<\/a>, and for one central reason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing that we changed here in Georgia would have changed the outcome of the previous election, and I think that\u2019s an important message every Republican has got to carry [forward,]\u201d Duncan said. \u201cStop trying to relitigate a former election. It\u2019s not going to help us win the next one.\u201d&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/01\/03\/trump-georgia-raffensperger-call-recording\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Trump Reportedly Told Georgia Secretary Of State \u2018To Find\u2019 Votes In Recorded Phone Call)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7283556\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"35\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7283556\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7283556\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-scaled.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-scaled.jpg 8192w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1294496402-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 8192px) 100vw, 8192px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7283556\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gabriel Sterling, Georgia\u2019s Voting System Implementation manager, during one of many press conferences explaining how the 2020 election was not rigged. (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>His call to admit defeat and regroup for the future is not only why he has come under attack from Trump and his allies, who repeatedly tried to overturn Georgia\u2019s results, but what he argues is imperative for Republicans to do if they want to win 2022, 2024 and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a concern that we continue to have the conversation within Republican circles publicly about a rigged election,\u201d Duncan said, calling out the former president by name. \u201cBut at the end of the day, the only way we win the next election is by actually focusing on the next election and putting our best foot forward. We\u2019ve got to take the things we do really, really well, remind the voters of it, and improve where we need to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duncan\u2019s objective has met strong resistance from his own party. In Georgia alone, Trump allies who have endorsed his voter fraud claims are <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/01\/04\/trump-georgia-loeffler-perdue-kemp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">seeking to oust <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/16\/vernon-jones-governor-georgia-kemp-primary-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gov. Brian Kemp<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/22\/georgia-republican-jody-hice-challenging-brad-raffnesperger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger<\/a>, both Republicans, after they insisted that <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/12\/31\/signature-audit-georgias-cobb-county-no-evidence-voter-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no widespread fraud occurred<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, meanwhile, turned on Duncan the minute he acknowledged the election results. He called him a \u201cRINO Never Trumper\u201d who was \u201ctoo dumb or corrupt to recognize the massive evidence of fraud,\u201d and called for him to be replaced. When Duncan announced that he would not run for a second term in May, Trump celebrated that, too, saying that it was \u201cGood for Georgia\u201d and calling his victory in 2018 an \u201caccident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Across Congress, Republicans who have said the same have drawn primary challengers or, in the case of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, removed from their leadership posts, while Trump has verbally attacked even more himself. And while Duncan\u2019s colleagues face a real possibility of being ousted by members of their own party, his decision to forgo reelection was made so that he could instead focus his efforts on putting the GOP back on a path that he thinks will lead to success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not running again because I\u2019m 100% committed to healing and rebuilding this party,\u201d he told the DCNF. \u201c\u2018GOP 2.0\u2019 is a better pathway forward for us. It\u2019s a winnable strategy. We can\u2019t be so tone deaf as to think we should just win the half, we gotta win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan described what the GOP must do to restore faith in elections and win in the future in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-770644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}