ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger both launched campaigns for Georgia governor this week, immediately drawing sharp attention for their past clashes with President Donald Trump.

Duncan announced his campaign on Tuesday and quickly rolled out a small business plan at Black Coffee in south Atlanta — an unusual venue for a former Republican.

The coffee shop’s walls are lined with portraits of Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, one of Duncan’s rivals in the Democratic primary.

“I’m the only one that can show up in November of 2026 and get Democrats, independents and disgusted Republicans to show up and vote,” Duncan said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, now a Democrat, announces run for Ga. governor

Duncan, who left the GOP over Trump’s influence, is pitching himself as a centrist. But Democrats in the race argue he’s not truly one of them, pointing to his past opposition to Medicaid expansion and his support for Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. On the trail, Duncan is working to distance himself from those stances.

“I was wrong to think a room full of legislators knew better than millions of women,” he said. “Women deserve the right to choose, and as governor, I’ll repeal the six-week ban.”

Coffee shop owner Jamin Butler said Duncan’s outreach stood out.

“He’s the only candidate that’s come to our community and to this coffee shop to have this conversation. That speaks a lot about his character,” Butler said.

Raffensperger announced his candidacy before Duncan’s media tour.

The Republican is best known for resisting Trump’s pressure to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential results — a stand that earned him both national attention and lasting criticism from Trump.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Brad Raffensperger launches Georgia governor’s bid

“I’m prepared to make the tough decisions. I follow the law and the Constitution, and I’ll always do the right thing for Georgia,” Raffensperger said in his campaign launch video.

Democrats said Raffensperger will need to “out-MAGA” rivals such as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to survive a Republican primary. Trump has never forgiven Raffensperger for rejecting his demands to “find” votes in 2020 and has already mocked Duncan as a “total loser” for switching parties.

“Geoff Duncan and Brad Raffensperger are both very good general election candidates,” said Ben Taylor, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University. “But both may have difficulty making it out of their respective party primaries, for different reasons.”

With Duncan defining his candidacy around opposing Trump and Raffensperger still paying the price for defying him, Georgia’s 2026 gubernatorial race is shaping up as another test of the president’s grip on Georgia politics.

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