Georgia utility races seen as potential bellwether for 2026 midterms

The results of an unusual off-year special election for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission are being closely watched as a key indicator of voter sentiment heading into the critical 2026 midterm election. Whereas Republicans say they are running on a track record of producing reliable energy, Democratic leaders have framed the PSC […]

Alicia Johnson (top left), Tim Echols (top right), Fitz Johnson (bottom right) and Peter Hubbard (bottom left) are running for seats on Georgia Public Service Commission. Echols and Fitz Johnson are the incumbents. Photos submitted by the candidates

The results of an unusual off-year special election for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission are being closely watched as a key indicator of voter sentiment heading into the critical 2026 midterm election.

Whereas Republicans say they are running on a track record of producing reliable energy, Democratic leaders have framed the PSC election as a referendum on rising energy bills and Republican leadership, calling it the most direct way for consumers to express their policy preferences around utility affordability.

The commission regulates utilities like electricity and natural gas, giving the little-known panel a say over how much Georgians pay for those services and the energy sources used to power Georgia’s grid. The five commissioners serving today are all Republican. 

“If we win on Tuesday, it is going to be the voters telling Republicans, ‘we’re sick of it,’” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Charlie Bailey in an interview Monday.

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This year’s election, delayed since 2020 by litigation challenging the commission’s at-large voting system, features two Republican incumbents defending their seats against Democratic challengers who have centered their campaigns on energy affordability and a series of six Georgia Power rate increases in two years. 

A Democratic victory in either or both races would be the first time the party has won a statewide constitutional office since 2006. Even two wins Tuesday would not change the partisan control of the commission, but it would provide significant momentum for the 2026 elections, which include an open race for governor and the reelection bid of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Georgia’s election is also attracting national attention. Democratic National Committee vice-chair Jane Kleeb dropped into Georgia this week to lend a hand. 

“These Public Service Commission races are so critical, not only for what they’re in charge of with utility and affordability and energy mix, but for next year, when Ossoff is on the ballot, you need that momentum,” Kleeb said.

Republican incumbents lean on ‘reliable’ voters

Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have campaigned to rally their base, partly by trying to tie Democratic candidates in Georgia to national Democrats and energy policies that tend to galvanize right-leaning voters. 

Fitz Johnson, the Republican incumbent in District 3 who was appointed by Kemp in 2021, has defended Georgia’s mix of nuclear, natural gas, coal and renewables as balanced and the best way to keep energy reliable and rates affordable. He has attributed price spikes to nationwide inflation and the costs associated with the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project, which was billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. 

Both Johnson and Tim Echols, the Republican incumbent from District 2, also backed a proposal this year to freeze Georgia Power base rates until 2028, although the arrangement will not shield ratepayers from bill increases to pay for hurricane cleanup and other costs. Echols said the freeze was a necessary measure for customers to recover from “the vast inflation we have experienced since the pandemic.”

Georgia Republicans say they fear local elections could help Democrats in statewide utilities race

While emphasizing grid reliability and economic development, Republicans have also resorted to identity politics and charged terms, with Echols labeling his opponent, Alicia Johnson, as a “DEI specialist,” based on language she had in her biography. She has rebuffed the attack as a “racist, MAGA dog-whistle,” saying that “it’s a reflection of him, not me.” 

The Georgia Republican Party has also tried to link the two Democratic candidates to New York candidate for mayor Zohran Mamdani and national Democrats like U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That move, Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said, is designed to bring out reliable Republican voters who “tend to show up every time there’s an election, (but) that have not shown up this time.”

“That has to do with the fact that there are a lot of voters remaining out there to turn out who will respond to a message highlighting the partisan differences,” McKoon said.

Democratic candidates bank on affordability

Democrats are banking on widespread voter frustration over recent rate hikes. Georgia Power residential customers are paying about $43 more per month since 2023 to cover rate increases, fuel expenses and costs from the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion, translating to an additional $500 the average customer pays in energy cost per year.

Alicia Johnson, the Democrat running for District 2, is advocating for increased scrutiny of utility spending, more clean energy adoption and greater consumer protections. She has centered her campaign on affordability and reliability, saying that 47% of Georgia’s households face financial “volatility and precariousness.”

The winner in District 2 will serve for five years until 2030.

Peter Hubbard, the Democrat in District 3, is a clean energy advocate who has intervened in PSC proceedings since 2019, where he has served as an expert witness. He has criticized the incumbents’ approval of the series of rate hikes and said he can lower Georgians’ power bills by shifting away from fossil fuels, adopting more renewable energy, along with limiting Georgia Power’s guaranteed profit margin. 

If Hubbard wins, he will only serve one year before having to defend his seat in 2026, when he’ll be up for reelection with Tricia Pridemore, a commissioner since 2018. If the two serve together, they have signaled that they are likely to be at odds with each other. Pridemore posted on social media on Halloween a text she received from Hubbard that called her “Bribemore,” saying that Hubbard called her a “nasty name.”

Hubbard has repeatedly said that he thinks he’d be able to work well with “at least two” of the Republican commissioners not up for reelection if elected and said Saturday while campaigning in Lawrenceville that Pridemore is “not a pleasant person” and often unwilling to listen to expert witnesses. When asked, he did not deny sending the text but said it was “a bad case of an autocorrect mistake.”