Democrats Flip Two Statewide Seats In Red-Leaning Georgia By Landslides

Democrats will hold non-federal statewide office in Georgia for the first time in almost two decades, following the landslide defeat of a pair of incumbent Republicans on the Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC) Tuesday night.

Democrat Alicia Johnson unseated Republican Commissioner Tim Echols by over 25 percentage points, winning 62.7% to 37.3%, while Democrat Peter Hubbard beat Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson by a similar margin, 62.9% to 37.1%, Decision Desk HQ reported, with over 95% of the vote in. The five-member PSC is elected statewide and its last Democratic member to date was David Burgess, who lost reelection in 2006.

Decision Desk HQ called both of the PSC special elections for the Democrats at 7:40 p.m. ET. The projection was made before outlets called other races in favor of a host of Democratic candidates across the country, including Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

National Democrats appeared quick to pin the pair of landslide losses for the Republican Party on President Donald Trump.

“Johnson and Hubbard won tonight’s Georgia Public Service Commissioner race by focusing on the issue that matters most to Georgians: lowering costs,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “This victory is a direct response to Trump’s cost-raising agenda that is squeezing pocketbooks in Georgia and across the country.”

Martin added that the special elections “should serve as a warning sign to Republicans in Georgia and beyond. Costs are too damn high and Trump and Republicans are to blame.”

The president carried Georgia, a key battleground state, by just over two points in the 2024 presidential election.

“For the first time in nearly 20 years, Democrats have won non-federal statewide races in Georgia, flipping two seats on the Public Service Commission,” Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrote in a Tuesday night Facebook post. “A rejection of Trump-era policies that have driven up energy costs and electricity bills.”

The PSC “has exclusive power to decide what are fair and reasonable rates for services under its jurisdiction,” according to its website. It regulates electric power, natural gas and telecommunications companies.