The Times, They Are A-Changin’

While Republicans are obviously still very much in power in this state, with Kemp winning reelection in 2022 and President Donald Trump recapturing the state in 2024, there is no question that every statewide race is now in play. Look no further than to the special election results of November 2025, when Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard didn’t just defeat two incumbent Republicans on the Georgia Public Service Commission – they demolished them.

It’s not enough to just point the finger at the Republicans causing the problem … we need to offer specific, concrete solutions to rebuild and expand the middle class.

With the caveat that special elections can only tell us so much given their low voter turnout, I believe the PSC races mark a turning point in Georgia politics, even more so than the elections of Warnock and Ossoff.

For the few readers who may not be up to speed on the PSC, it is a five-member board that ensures Georgians receive safe, reliable and reasonably priced telecommunications, electric and natural gas services. Until last year, many Georgians had never even heard of the commission, but with Trump and the Republican Party suffering from widespread disapproval, the opportunity to elect Democrats to a statewide nonfederal office for the first time in 20 years became a rallying cry for voters demanding change.

And the message came through loud and clear. Even the most optimistic Democrats did not foresee just how large the margin of victory would end up being. Hubbard and Johnson both won their races by a staggering 25%, each attracting around 400,000 more voters than their Republican opponents. In fact, even if you removed every Democratic vote from the blue strongholds of Fulton and DeKalb counties, they still would have won.

There is truly no precedent in modern Georgia history for such a blowout and at a minimum, it reflects the fact that our most engaged voters are overwhelmingly opposed to the disruption and destruction being caused by the Republican Party. At the same time, the Democratic candidates wisely zeroed in on a message of affordability at a time that conservative policies are making everything more expensive, including the utilities that the PSC regulates.

So what does this mean for us now in 2026, a year in which we have the first highly competitive Democratic primary for governor in two decades, an incumbent Democratic U.S. senator on the ballot and a fervent race to the far right among every Republican running for higher office?

First off, it means we have a winning strategy. There is no reason to believe that the affordability crisis plaguing our state is going to get better anytime soon, and in fact, with healthcare expenses skyrocketing for millions of families this year, it seems to be getting significantly worse almost overnight. Affordability is THE key issue right now, just as it was a few months ago.

To continue winning on that issue, Democrats need to make it the core of their message. It’s not enough to just point the finger at the Republicans causing the problem, either – we need to offer specific, concrete solutions to rebuild and expand the middle class. We have a lot of great candidates running on the Democratic side this year, and I predict whoever wins will have offered the best path forward to make that happen.

Second, we still need to be prepared for Republicans to hammer the culture war issues that too many Democrats have not responded to effectively. We need to emphasize a strong economic message, but we cannot abandon the values and principles that make us the party that truly reflects this country. We won’t win by abandoning vulnerable people who are under attack because of what they look like and who they love.

Democrats have the momentum right now, and if we can seize on it, just as the GOP did, following Republican Bobby Baker’s victory in the 1992 PSC race that ushered in Georgia’s new conservative era, then 2025 is just the beginning.