Republican Candidates for Georgia Insurance Post Face August Runoff
State Sen. Ralph Hudgens garnered about 21 percent of the vote while Atlanta attorney Maria Sheffield grabbed about 20 percent, setting the stage for an Aug. 20 runoff in the Republican race for Georgia insurance commissioner.
Georgia requires a candidate to win 50 percent of the vote to be a party’s nominee.
Democrat Mary Squires ran unopposed for her party’s nomination for the insurance post. She will face the winner of the Republican runoff in the November general election.
The Secretary of State’s office reported that with 98 percent of precincts reporting, Hudgens had 117, 257 votes or 20.7 percent to Sheffield’s 111,039 or 19.6 percent.
There were nine insurance commissioner candidates in the Republican primary for the post vacated by John Oxendine, who has held the post since 1994. Oxendine ran for the Republican nomination for governor but finished out of the running. Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel topped the GOP field and will face second-place finisher, former Rep. Nathan Deal, in a GOP runoff. The winner will face Democrat Gov. Roy Barnes.