An Interview with Geoff Duncan: Pitcher, Businessman, and Now Candidate for Lt. Governor

“I want to create a culture in Georgia as Lieutenant Governor that rewards good policy over good politics.”

On January 11th, 2018, former Georgia State Representative, retired professional baseball player and businessman Geoff Duncan joined Merion West’s Henri Mattila for an interview to discuss his vision for Georgia as he campaigns for Lieutenant Governor.

Thank you for joining us today, Rep. Duncan. As my first question, why as a small business owner did you want to get involved in the often thankless job of politics?

There’s nothing in my background that points to politics. My first paycheck came-in as a minor league baseball player. So, after baseball’s over, I got into the business world and started several companies from scratch, and I was able to sell one.

Politics came into our family’s life when we were sitting in church in Atlanta, and Pastor Andy Stanley gave a speech called “Recovery Road,” and it challenged us as individuals to stop complaining and instead get involved. He used some pretty important examples such as education: too many people in America have gotten too comfortable pointing their fingers at teachers, administrators, and the curriculum. But not enough folks are spending time at the kitchen table talking about homework and the importance of that education to their future. So the call was to make a difference in your own family or community, or maybe even go run for office. And that launched us into a first-time political campaign against an incumbent here in Georgia for a State House position, which we ultimately won.