For the first time since 2000, two Democrats will hold seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission following historic wins against Republican incumbents on Tuesday night. Currently holding all five seats of the Georgia Public Service Commission, Republicans hoped to maintain their control over the commission.
The commission is the statewide institution responsible for setting policies for electricity, gas and telecommunications. Democrat Alicia Johnson (62%) beat incumbent Republican Tim Echols (38%) for Georgia Public Service Commission District 2. Democrat Peter Hubbard (62%) won in Georgia Public Service Commission District 3, defeating incumbent Republican Fitz Johnson (38%).
For five years, elections for this commission have been on hold due to ongoing litigation, which alleges that the statewide voting system discriminates against Black voters. Now, Democrats will have more influence in determining key energy and utility policies for the next five years.
Emory University Masse-Martin NEH Professor of Political Science Zachary Peskowitz highlighted the differences in this year’s election from previous ones.
“It’s an unusual situation in that we typically have these elections every two years,” Peskowitz said. “This is the first opportunity in a few years for voters to weigh in and try to have some influence through the ballot box.”
Democrat Alicia Johnson ran against Echols, the Republican incumbent, in District 2, which covers the central and eastern parts of the state. Johnson’s campaign included plans to invest more in clean energy, like solar batteries and microgrids. Echols campaigned on his commission experience and desire to expand solar and nuclear power, campaigning on the three-year electricity rate freeze the commission approved as a “win for consumers.” The freeze prevents the commission from raising the rate Georgians pay for their electricity until 2028.
In District 3, which covers the Atlanta metropolitan area and Clayton County, Hubbard, the Democratic challenger, ran against the Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson. Governor Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) originally appointed Fitz Johnson to the vacant seat in 2021. Fitz Johnson’s 2025 campaign focused on lowering energy costs and finding more ways to meet Georgia’s energy needs.
Emory Associate Professor of Economics Maria Arbatskaya highlighted the tensions between keeping rates low while still investing in the future of Georgia’s energy.
“I believe that there has to be a balance, because we have a trade-off here,” Arbatskaya said. “We would like to see all low rates on electricity and natural gas, but we also want to have infrastructure developed.”
Young Democrats of Emory Treasurer Raleigh Maxwell (28C) emphasized the stakes of these races ahead of Election Day.
“This year is very important because Georgia is at an inflection point, and has been in this place for the past decade about, ‘Is this state going to be a blue or red state, is it going to stay as a purple state?’” Maxwell said.
Maxwell said it was difficult to bring attention to the commission election on Emory’s campus.
“There’s definitely a lack of awareness on campus,” Maxwell said. “It is a big bureaucratic agency that has a name that doesn’t even explain what it does, and it’s very hard to communicate exactly what the role does.”
Emory community members encouraged students to turn out to vote and educated community members about the commission’s role in Georgia’s energy landscape.
Sunrise Emory Actions Team Lead Piper Domsch (28C) highlighted the impact their group is trying to make as a chapter of a national organization. The group endorsed both Democratic challengers in the election. Sunrise Emory is the University’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a national youth-led political action organization that advocates for action on climate change and the Green New Deal.
“It’s always a super low turnout election, which is something that we are trying to change,” Domsch said.
According to exit polls, the turnout for Tuesday’s election was higher than expected, with almost 1.5 million Georgians coming out for an election without a gubernatorial race or national elections.
In anticipation of the election, Domsch and her team attended a hearing about Georgia Power’s grid expansion proposal in October. Sunrise Emory gave three-minute personal statements about how the plan would affect them. She hoped the event brought more publicity to the issue.
“The goal of us going to give public comments was also to get media attention so that more people can know about this election,” Domsch said.
Arbatskaya also highlighted the overwhelming impact this election would have on Georgians.
“Almost everybody in Georgia would feel the positive and negative impacts of whoever is going to end up on the commission going forward,” Arbatskaya said. “The outcome of the election would affect almost every household.”
