Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan appeared during an unofficial hearing held by House Democrats marking five years since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A former longtime Republican, Duncan was elected as the state's lieutenant governor back in 2018 and served one term under Gov. Brian Kemp, choosing not to seek reelection in 2022. 

While acting as lieutenant governor, Duncan became a target of then-former President Trump and other Republicans after siding with Kemp to certify Georgia's election results. Former President Biden won the state by a narrow margin, marking the first time in years that the state's 16 Electoral College votes went to the Democratic candidate.

Speaking with Major Garrett on CBS News's "The Takeout," Duncan called the actions by the president five years ago an "all-out conspiracy or, you know, a conspired attempt to overthrow democracy."

"It was organized, and it was, it was intentional, and the lies and the conspiracy theories almost, almost flipped the tables," he said.

He described the riot as a pressure campaign put on by the president and Mr. Trump's allies that "pushed us to the edge."

"Thank goodness enough people and enough safeguards were in place to allow us to continue to move forward as a country," he said.

A political shift from Republican to Democrat

After leaving office, Duncan publicly endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president and continued to criticize Mr. Trump, which eventually led the state GOP to pass a resolution expelling him from the party. 

In 2025, he switched parties and entered the 2026 governor's race as a Democrat, looking to succeed Kemp, who is term-limited.

"Some of the skeptics will ask me, 'Geoff, have you lost your mind?' And my, my answer is no. I, I found my heart," he told Garrett. "I'm a Democrat, a proud Democrat now that doesn't have to make excuses for Donald Trump or, or the failed Republican policies."

No Democrat has won the governorship in Georgia since attorney and former state Sen. Roy Barnes in 1988.

"It's a very simple math equation. It's because they haven't got enough votes. I'm the only person in this race that can get Democrats, independents, and this batch of growing disgusted Republicans to show up and vote for us in November of 26 and, and not let Donald Trump be the de facto governor, because that's what will happen if a Republican becomes governor," Duncan said. 

Duncan told Garrett one of his first actions if elected would be to sign an executive order clarifying that "clarifies doctors can practice medicine on women without the fear of prosecution" and push for a repeal of the state's restrictions on abortion.

"I've taken the time to listen to these horrific stories, these difficult medical situations, these difficult personal scenarios that play out. And I know that women absolutely do deserve the right to choose," he said.

The former lieutenant governor faces a crowded field of candidates. Some of the big names in the Democratic party running this year include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, state Rep. Ruwa Romman, and former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond. On the other side of the aisle, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, state Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Georgia National Guard member Ken Yasger, and businessman Clark Dean are fighting for the seat.

Another committee takes a different look at Jan. 6

Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, who has been tapped by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to lead a new committee to probe other theories about what happened on Jan. 6, rejected Tuesday's session by Democrats as a "partisan exercise" designed to hurt Mr. Trump and his allies.

The new Republican-led committee has focused on security lapses at the Capitol — from the time it took for the National Guard to arrive on the scene to the failure of the police canine units to discover the pipe bombs found that day outside Republican and Democratic party headquarters. The FBI arrested a Virginia man suspected of placing the pipe bombs, and he told investigators last month he believed someone needed to speak up for those who believed the 2020 election was stolen, authorities say.

"The Capitol Complex is no more secure today than it was on January 6," Loudermilk said in a social media post. "My Select Subcommittee remains committed to transparency and accountability and ensuring the security failures that occurred on January 6 and the partisan investigation that followed never happens again."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.