Insurance commissioner race spotlights Georgia's auto, health care woes

With Georgians facing skyrocketing auto and health care premiums, voters go to the polls later this month to decide who will be the state’s next top insurance regulator.

Three Republicans and two Democrats are facing off in primaries to replace Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, a Republican who once vowed to be an Obamacare obstructionist and told reporters that a state law he supported kept him from doing anything much about escalating auto insurance rates.

While Hudgens has endorsed a former top aide — Republican Jay Florence — to be his successor, most of the others are running away from the agency’s record, which includes financial problems and Georgia ranking either first or second for auto insurance rate increases the past few years.

“I have not been endorsed by the incumbent, and I am grateful for that,” said Tracy Jordan, a pharmacist, Realtor and former Hoschton city councilwoman running as a Republican. “I am proud to tell the people of this state I am not funded by large insurance companies.”

Read more: https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/insurance-commissioner-race-spotlights-georgia-auto-health-care-woes/UIbIo1YZoE6rnSiORegfyL/