Georgia Insurance Commissioner King Joins Race for Ossoff’s U.S. Senate Seat

Inflammatory Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene won’t, but Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King will run for the U.S. Senate now held by Democrat John Ossoff.

King, a former police chief in Georgia, was appointed to the insurance commissioner job in 2019 by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after former commissioner Jim Beck was forced out of office and was convicted of defrauding a homeowners’ insurance association he worked for. King was then elected commissioner in 2022, defeating a Donald Trump-endorsed Republican and a Democrat insurance agent.

“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because Jon Ossoff is AWOL, and Georgians deserve a senator who fights for them and puts America First,” King said on his campaign website.

King, a retired U.S. Army National Guard major general, stepped into the commissioner’s role at a time that rising auto insurance rates had become an issue statewide. He won a significant change in 2023 when state lawmakers revised the law and barred use-and-file auto rate increases from taking effect for 60 days, giving the insurance office time to review. That came after Allstate Insurance had raised auto rates by 40%.

Also in 2023, King ordered Farmers Insurance to rescind thousands of nonrenewal notices sent to homeowners in the state. Georgia law forbids carriers from changing underwriting guidelines or eligibility rules for existing policies unless the changes apply to an entire class or territory and has been approved by the commissioner’s office.

King may have plenty of campaigning to do before the 2026 election. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, of Georgia, also has announced his plans to run for the Senate seat. And a recent poll shows King trailing Ossoff by 13 points, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

More prominent Republicans, including Greene and Kemp, have declined to enter the Senate race.

King’s insurance commissioner term is due to end in early 2027.

Getting elected to higher office is fairly rare for insurance commissioners, but not unheard of. Former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, served as state treasurer and insurance commissioner before he was elected to Congress and then to the Senate. Ben Nelson was Nebraska’s insurance department director before he was elected governor and then senator.

Topics USA Georgia Politics