Hudgens Re-Elected as Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner

Republican Ralph Hudgens has been elected to a second term as Georgia’s insurance and safety fire commissioner in Tuesday’s midterm election.

“Serving as Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner has been a tremendous privilege, and I am grateful for the opportunity to fulfill another term,” Hudgens said in a statement today.

“In my time in office, I have focused on protecting consumers while making sure that Georgia remains a competitive place to do the business of insurance. Today a majority of voters in this State placed their trust in me to serve another term. I will work hard over the next four years to earn that trust,” said Hudgens.

Hudgens received 1,378,560 votes, or 55 percent of the total votes cast, beating Democrat Elizabeth Johnson who received 1,044,812 votes, or 42 percent of the total votes, and Libertarian Edward Metz who got 86,205 votes or 3 percent of the overall votes.

Hudgens was first elected as Georgia’s insurance and safety fire commissioner in November 2010 and assumed the office in January 2011.

His duties as insurance commissioner include regulating approximately 1,600 insurance companies, licensing 137,000 insurance agents, and regulating over 1,000 industrial loan offices.

As safety fire commissioner, Hudgens appoints the state fire marshal, oversees the state arson unit, regulates explosive and hazardous materials, and is responsible for the inspection of public buildings for compliance with the state fire code. Hudgens has also been a staunch opponent of the federal health care overhaul and its rollout.