ATLANTA (AP) — Former Republican and onetime Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is running as a Democrat for governor, a remarkable step for a staunch critic of President Donald Trump who left the conservative fold in a region where party switchers have gone in the other direction for generations.

“I’ve never wavered in taking on Trump. So Georgia Republicans threw me out of their party,” Duncan said in his announcement video released Tuesday. “I was leaving anyway. Now I’m running for governor as a proud Democrat.”

A 50-year-old resident of a Republican stronghold north of Atlanta, Duncan joins an already crowded field of lifelong Democrats. Top candidates include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms , state Sen. Jason Esteves and former labor commissioner Michael Thurmond .

Duncan pit

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