In the race for insurance commissioner, state Sen. Ralph Hudgens led attorney Maria Sheffield with 55 percent of the vote. The two emerged from a crowded, nine-person GOP primary in the campaign to succeed John Oxendine, who also decided to run for governor.
The two Republicans have promised to be a stumbling block to Obama's sweeping health care plan. They vowed to build on Oxendine's decision earlier this year to refuse to set up a state insurance pool for high-risk Georgians who have been uninsured for at least six months as part of the overhaul.
The winner of Tuesday's runoff will face Democrat Mary Squires, who ran unopposed in her party's primary.
The race for an open seat on the Public Service Commission has attracted little attention, but the complicated issues that come before the five-member board are worth billions of dollars to utilities and directly affect the everyday lives of Georgia residents.
Conservative activist Tim Echols opened an early lead against state Sen. John Douglas, as unofficial returns showed him capturing 52 percent of the vote.
Both candidates said they will fight to protect consumer rights and work to maintain reasonable utility rates. The winner will face Democrat Keith Moffett in November to take the seat held by the retiring Bobby Baker, widely known as the panel's most vocal consumer advocate.
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I note with interest your short article on the state of the race for Insurance Commissioner here in Georgia. Brief and to the point, it has one glaring omission.
Me.
My name is Shane Bruce and I am the Libertarian Citizen Politician who is also running for this office this fall. I and all 10 of the Libertarian Candidates for Statewide office in Georgia this year will be pounding the drum for Liberty and we will be heard. Are there problems at the Office of the Insurance Commissioner? Certainly. Do republican Ralph Hudgens or democrat Mary Squires offer any tangible change? Certainly not. They are the vanguard of the same old same old and if either of the two win, Georgia will continue to suffer from extravagant auto insurance rates (8th highest in the USA), total disregard for those Georgians saddled with "pre-existing" medical conditions and other outrages.
I have sworn an oath to not accept any campaign donations from people who work in any of the industries regulated by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and have challenged my opponents to follow suit. I am confident they will not.
If any of your readership would like to know more about this important race in Georgia, feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Shane Bruce
Libertarian Candidate for Insurance Commissioner