Republicans for Georgia Insurance Post Face Runoff; Oxendine Loses

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.

Current Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine failed in his bid to advance to higher office.

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 running in the Republican primary for the post vacated by Oxendine, who has held the post since 1994. Oxendine ran for the Republican nomination for governor and despite polls showing him leading at several points during the race, he appears to have finished fourth and out of the running.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel topped the GOP field with 34.1 percent of the vote. Former Rep. Nathan Deal was in second, at 22.9 percent, followed by former state Sen. Eric Johnson at 20.1 and Oxendine at 16.9 percent. Handel will face whichever candidate finishes second in a runoff.

The eventual Republican nominee for governor will face former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes who won more than 50 percent of the vote in his primary to secure the Democratic nomination.

Topics Georgia Politics