The Weekly Remix

By Jill Nolin | Editor

By Ariel Hart

No Georgia official is more directly tied to affordability than the state’s commissioner of insurance. And that job is on the ballot this year, starting with Tuesday’s primary.

The commissioner’s main job is to make sure Georgia insurance companies don’t charge policyholders too much for their coverage like health and auto policies. And that after the consumer pays their premiums, the companies cover what they’re supposed to.  

The field to unseat the incumbent, Republican John King, is packed with five Democratic challengers. Those who answered questions for this story say King is not doing enough, and they’ll do more. On the Republican ballot, King stands unchallenged and points to his record of levying millions in fines to the companies.

By Maya Homan

Nonpartisan elections like those held for the state Supreme Court race don’t usually attract much attention in Georgia.

But this year, with three sitting justices on the state’s highest court up for re-election, two attorneys backed by a slew of progressive organizations have launched high-profile campaigns, with the hope of shifting the balance of the court. 

By Maya Homan

The race to become Georgia’s next top election official is well underway, with nine candidates vying for the role of secretary of state. The four Democratic contenders have focused on ensuring that elections are both transparent and accessible to voters.

By Maya Homan

On the Republican side, five candidates are competing in a race dominated by debunked concerns about widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election and a push to implement hand-marked paper ballots.

By Emily Jones, WABE/Grist

Ten candidates are vying for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission in the May 19 primary.

The commission oversees utilities, including telecommunications, natural gas and electricity – notably Georgia Power, the state’s largest electric utility. The commission has final say over how Georgia Power makes energy and what it charges customers. This gives commissioners substantial power over Georgians’ energy bills and the state’s climate future, because burning fossil fuels to make electricity is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

By Ross Williams

Fred “Bubba” Longgrear has racked up endorsements from high-profile Republicans. High-ranking legislators endorsing a candidate from their own party would not be unusual except for the fact that the Republican incumbent, State Superintendent Richard Woods, is also in the race.

By Ross Williams

Five Democrats are seeking to challenge Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes to lead the state’s Department of Labor. In phone interviews, the candidates largely said they would emphasize the rights of workers rather than corporations as well as focus on affordability.

By Jill Nolin

Four candidates are pledging to bring a fighting spirit to the attorney general’s office in Georgia, although what they plan to fight for depends largely on which side of the aisle they fall. 

By Maya Homan

The likelihood of a Democratic lieutenant governor having to work with a Republican majority in the chamber – and who would be the most effective in that scenario  – has become a defining issue of the primary race so far. 

By Alander Rocha

A race for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District started with a crowded field of candidates who had hoped to unseat a longtime lawmaker, but after the late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s death in April, the seat is open for the first time since 2002.

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