Two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission will be on the ballot on November 4. Two incumbent Republican commissioners— Tim Echols of District 2 and Fitz Johnson of District 3--are being challenged by Democratic candidates Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard, respectively. The PSC regulates utility rates, and the Democrats are emphasizing that years of Republican control of the PSC have produced the surge in electricity rates for Georgians. Echols, for example, has been on the Commission for 14 years. The Georgia Recorder reports that the election's low profile and the prospects of low voter turnout will work to the Democrats' advantage.
The Recorder provides extensive recent quotes from the candidates on their policy positions. It also quotes Charles Hua of PowerLines, an organization focusing on consumer energy issues, who said in an interview that nationally, utility bills are the “fastest driver of inflation right now,” adding that utility bills in Georgia “have increased 33% in the last two years, translating to about $500 per year.”
From CHATGPT:
Major Statewide Races & Candidates
Office Party Declared / Running Notes
Governor Republican Burt Jones (Lt. Gov.) Has Trump’s endorsement
Republican Chris Carr (current AG)
Democrat Michael Thurmond
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms
Democrat Ruwa Romman
Office Party Declared / Running Notes
Attorney General Republican Bill Cowsert (State Senator)
Republican Brian Strickland (State Senator)
Democrat Tanya F. Miller (State Rep)
Democrat Bob Trammell (Former House Minority Leader)
Office Party Declared / Running Notes
Secretary of State Republican Tim Fleming (State Rep)
Republican Kelvin King
Republican Gabriel Sterling
Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds
Democrat Adrian Consonery Jr.
Office Party Declared / Running Notes
State Superintendent of Schools Republican Richard Woods (incumbent)
Republican Bubba Longgrear
Republican Mesha Mainor (former State Rep)
Republican Randell Trammell
Democrat Otha Thornton
Office Party Declared / Running Notes
Labor Commissioner Republican Bárbara Rivera Holmes (incumbent)
Republican Ross Williams
Some U.S. House Races & Other Notable Ones
Republican: Houston Gaines has declared for the open seat (incumbent Mike Collins is running for Senate).
Democrat: Lexy Doherty declared; also Dantwan Watkins filed paperwork.
Incumbent Barry Loudermilk (R) and Chase Laminack (D) are in the general election field.
Excerpts:
A hospital in rural Georgia is closing its labor and delivery unit, saying its precarious finances could not weather further funding cuts called for in President Trump’s new tax and spending law.
Republicans point out their provision in the bill of $50 billion for investment in rural health care, but who gets the money is still to be determined—and it’s expected to offset only about one-third of the cuts to rural health elsewhere in the bill. The new funding is also temporary and not limited to just hospitals.
“Many struggling hospitals already teetering on the edge have seen the federal cuts as a death knell. A clinic in rural Nebraska, scheduled to shutter Sept. 30, was the first health facility to announce it was closing as a result of the law.”