by Alander Rocha and Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

November 5, 2025

Decisive Democratic victories in Georgia and across the country on Tuesday have given the Democratic Party momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms, while Republicans are left grappling with how to quickly recenter voters’ affordability concerns. 

Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard delivered an upset Tuesday by gaining over 60% of the statewide vote each, unseating two Republican incumbents on the Public Service Commission and clinching the first non-federal statewide victories for Democrats in Georgia in nearly 20 years. Johnson and Hubbard’s victories will reshape the current all-Republican commission, though the panel will remain under GOP control. 

Johnson and Hubbard won by focusing their campaigns on energy affordability, citing six Georgia Power bill increases over two years that were approved by the current commission and pledging to help lower energy costs. Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Charlie Bailey attributed Tuesday night’s results to a “repudiation of Republican leadership” that raised people’s bills by an average of $500 a year.

“When Republicans get power, they use that power to enrich themselves, their buddies, big corporations and billionaires. And what the people of Georgia are saying, what they said last night, is that they’re not going to put up with it anymore,” Bailey said.

The central theme Democrats credit for their success is a focus on the financial strain voters are experiencing. Democrats also won governorships in both New Jersey and Virginia by focusing on addressing affordability.

“American voters delivered a blue sweep, and make no mistake, the Democratic Party is back,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin in a press conference Wednesday. “The Democratic Party is a party of affordability, and the Democratic Party is full steam ahead to take back Congress next year.”

Looking ahead, Martin said the party would be “all gas, no brakes” in pursuing major pick-up opportunities in governor’s races in 2026, specifically naming Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot run again next year, leaving the seat up for grabs. 

Georgia Republicans are wrestling with how to move on. Georgia Republican election strategist Brian Robinson, who worked on now-outgoing Commissioner Fitz Johnson’s campaign, said Georgia Republicans will need to center their messaging on affordability if they want the strongest chance of holding onto power after next year’s midterms.

“The margins are gobsmacking, and the margins make it impossible to brush it off with easy explanations,” he said. “I mean, this margin is a five-alarm fire, and Republicans have got to bring out the emergency brigades, and I think we need to be very focused in 2026 on affordability.”

Georgia Republicans can’t control what comes out of Washington, he added, but they can control how they interact with voters – including listening to what they have to say.

“We know it ain’t just energy. It’s just that energy was the thing they got to have a voice on this week. If there was a referendum on grocery prices, on housing prices, I think we would see a similar protest. We would see a similar frustration. That’s what I see here, an anti-incumbent more than an anti-Republican mood,” Robinson said. 

Robinson said he expects that anti-incumbent mood to still be around by next year, but he is optimistic his party can win if they bring their A game and have the “best political athletes on the field.” Having the “R” behind the name will not be enough in 2026, he said. 

“If Democrats think this means they’re going to win next year, they’re wrong,” he said. “But Republicans can’t believe that it doesn’t mean anything.”

Municipal elections in cities like Atlanta left Republicans at a disadvantage from the jump, said Kennesaw State University political science professor and former Cobb County GOP chairman Jason Shepherd.

“If you look across the board, most Republican voters do not live in incorporated areas, and many of them didn’t even know there was an election,” he said. “And let’s also face facts. Maybe here incumbency did not work out in their favor because people are pretty angry about year after year after year rate hikes. And it’s hard to explain to your average voter that ‘Hey, Georgia has one of the lowest energy costs in the nation.’ That’s not a great argument because it doesn’t matter what Alabama’s paying. It only matters what you’re paying from your own budget every month, and that’s going up.”

Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, said that even if the election were held under normal circumstances, it would still have been a competitive election for Democrats because some voters are so dissatisfied with President Donald Trump. For Republicans, Bullock said, the path to future victories involves a delicate balancing act with the party’s base.

“They likely position themselves as Brian Kemp did, so you don’t criticize Trump, but on the other end, you try to make it clear to voters that you are not simply Trump’s man here,” Bullock said.

For Charles Hua of PowerLines, who called Tuesday night’s result both “shocking and unsurprising,” the Georgia election was a real-life experiment on how voters respond to messaging on energy affordability. The results in Georgia signaled a “seismic change” in energy politics that is resonating nationwide, he said, adding that electricity and gas are now among the fastest drivers of inflation.

To win in future races, Hua said that candidates must do two things: “One, name the issue, and two, take action on the issue.” While the outgoing Republican incumbents touched on affordability issues, Hua said their message wasn’t well communicated against a backdrop of rate increases under the incumbent commission. Regardless of party, candidates must “prioritize utility affordability and … articulate a clear, coherent policy plan” to tackle rising costs if they want to reach voters.

“The Public Service Commission is supposed to serve the public. It’s supposed to serve the public interest,” Hua said. “Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of that consumer vision.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.