Georgia Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan did not vote for his party's candidate, Herschel Walker, when early voting began in some Georgia counties ahead of the December 6 Senate runoff.
Neither did he vote for the Peach State's Democratic candidate, incumbent Junior Senator Raphael Warnock.
Duncan resorted to stepping out of line after waiting for an hour to cast his ballot.
He explained why in an interview with CNN’s John Berman.
"I just couldn't find anything that made sense for me to put my vote behind."
"So, I walked out of that ballot box showing up to vote, but not voting for either one of them."
\u201cLt. Governor Geoff Duncan admitted on CNN that he didn't vote for Herschel Walker: "I just couldn't find anything that made sense for me to put my vote behind. So, I walked out of that ballot box showing up to vote, but not voting for either one of them."\u201d— Kevin Tober (@Kevin Tober) 1669863781
Walker and Warnock are going head to head after both candidates failed to receive the state's required 50% of the vote in the general election last month.
During the midterm campaign, Walker had been under major scrutiny as controversial news reports began circulating–including allegations of him forcing women to have abortions.
Duncan had every intention of voting and headed for the polls when early voting began on Saturday. But then he had an epiphany that prompted him to toss his hands up.
He told CNN:
“I showed up to vote this morning."
“I was one of those folks who got in line and spent about an hour waiting, and it was the most disappointing ballot I’ve ever stared at in my entire life since I started voting.”
The retired pro baseball player-turned-politician added:
"I had two candidates that I just couldn’t find anything that made sense for me to put my vote behind, and so I walked out of that ballot box showing up to vote but not voting for either one of them."
Twitter had some mixed thoughts.
\u201c@KevinTober94 Agree 100% with him.\u201d— Kevin Tober (@Kevin Tober) 1669863781
\u201c@SpiroAgnewGhost Not casting a vote (or lacking the fortitude to cast a vote for the other party) is literally a vote for the person you don't want to vote for ... #HerschelWalker\u201d— Spiro\u2019s Ghost (@Spiro\u2019s Ghost) 1669871398
\u201c@SpiroAgnewGhost Sounds like a politician trying to walk an very fine line so that he can save his political future.\u201d— Spiro\u2019s Ghost (@Spiro\u2019s Ghost) 1669871398
\u201c@SpiroAgnewGhost i'll take that no vote any day. one less vote for herschel.\u201d— Spiro\u2019s Ghost (@Spiro\u2019s Ghost) 1669871398
\u201c@SpiroAgnewGhost Isn't that when he's supposed to put Country first and VOTE for Warnock?\nIf you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.\u201d— Spiro\u2019s Ghost (@Spiro\u2019s Ghost) 1669871398
\u201c@ACTBrigitte Can't say I blame him!\u201d— Brigitte Gabriel (@Brigitte Gabriel) 1669910083
Duncan is a vocal critic of former Republican President Donald Trump.
He was among the few Republican Party officials who spoke out against Trump and denounced him for his unfounded claims of a stolen election after the 2020 presidential race was handily won by Democratic President Joe Biden.
Duncan also said he believes the continued presence of Trump is an "inhibitor" to the success of the Republican party.
On November 14, after being let down by his party's disappointing midterm results, Duncan wrote an op-ed on CNN urging Walker to make three phone calls that would persuade him to confidently vote for him.
First, Duncan instructed Walker to call Trump and ask him not to campaign in the runoff.
Next, he advised Walker to glean all possible support from Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who outran Walker in last month's midterms.
Lastly, Duncan suggested Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis–who won reelection with the largest margin of any of the state's Governors in 40 years–should be the first to call as his team compiles their surrogate wish list.
Wrote Duncan:
"I don’t expect Walker to take advice from me. After all, I have been the proverbial skunk at the garden party within Republican circles for speaking out against Trump."
"But if the GOP can’t best a Democratic Party led by a president with an approval rating in the low 40s, something must change because the status quo isn’t cutting it."
"Don’t just take my word for it."
Georgia's turnout of early voters remains high as the early voting period continues through Friday.
