Georgia GOP leader warns that Trump-loving 'flat-earther' candidates will make Dems' path 'even easier' in 2022

Georgia's GOP lieutenant governor says convincing fellow Republicans that former president Donald Trump's claims of election fraud are false is "like convincing people hundreds of years ago that the Earth isn't flat."

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who is not seeking re-election in 2022, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he fears that a proliferation of GOP candidates who support Trump's big lie will "make the pathway for Democrats even easier" in the Peach State.

"Our job, as Republicans, is to walk into every GOP meeting whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable and convince them there's no fraud," Duncan said. "Some days, it's like convincing people hundreds of years ago that the Earth isn't flat. That's really what the conversation feels like."

Describing one recent forum as "a pro-Donald Trump fantasy convention," the Journal-Constitution reports that GOP candidates across Georgia are repeating Trump's false claims, including those seeking local offices, state legislative seats, and the most powerful positions in the state.

"The conspiracy theories are already complicating GOP primaries in Georgia, as Republicans try to fend off ascendant Democrats fresh off a string of victories in November's presidential election and January's U.S. Senate runoffs," the newspaper reports. "The few Georgia Republicans who have spoken in defense of the (election) results have faced ridicule from their own."

GOP candidates who support the big lie are challenging Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and vying for the Duncan's seat as well the party's nomination against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock — in a race that could decide whether Democrats retain control of the body.

State Rep. Bee Nguyen, the Democratic front-runner for Raffensperger's seat, told the newspaper that the rhetoric only weakens the nation's democracy by trying to undermine "the most secure election conducted in our state's history."

"It's no longer about policy for them because they have nothing else to offer Georgians," Nguyen said. "It's a dangerous tactic that causes irreparable harm — and history will not look upon them favorably."