Oconee County Democratic voters joined with the majority in the state in naming Peter Hubbard as the Party’s nominee to challenge Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November for District 3 representative on the state Public Service Commission.
In Tuesday voting in the Democratic Party Special Election Primary runoff, 178 Oconee County voters joined the 192 county voters who had cast a ballot in the five days of Early Voting to give Hubbard 79.1 percent of the vote to 20.9 percent for Keisha Sean Waites.
Across the state, the unofficial results had Hubbard with 58.2 percent of the vote to 41.8 percent for Waites.
Hubbard has been active before the Public Service Commission as a clean energy advocate for the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, a nonprofit that he created. Waites has served on the Atlanta Council and in the state legislature.
The local Democratic Party had worked hard to generate interest in the Public Service Commission, which sets the rates charged and the services provided by telecommunications, natural gas, and electric utilities in Georgia and also sets pipeline safety regulations.
Hubbard joined by Zoom a forum the local party held in May. Waites was invited but did not attend.
District 3 consists of Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties, but voters across the state participated in the party primary and runoff and will be able to vote for District 3 candidates in November.
Background
In the Special Election Primary in June, Oconee County voters gave Robert Jones 36.9 percent of the vote, Peter Hubbard 35.9 percent, and Waites 27.2 percent.
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| Hubbard Appearing Remotely At Oconee County Democratic Party 5/15/2025 |
Statewide results had Hubbard with 33.3 percent, Jones with 20.6 percent, and Waites with 46.1 percent, sending Hubbard and Waites to the July 15 runoff.
Incumbent Fitz Johnson ran unopposed in the Republican Primary for District 3.
Alicia M. Johnson ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary for District 2, and incumbent Republican Tim Echols won the Republican Party Primary.
Alicia Johnson and Echols will compete in November for the District 2 Commission slot.
District 2, which includes Oconee County, consists of 38 counties from eastern metropolitan Atlanta to the Savannah River and from Hart County in the north to Chatham County in the south.
Commissioners normally serve for six-year terms, but the winner of the District 3 race in November will serve only one year before coming up for election again as a result of settlement of a lawsuit over how commissioners are elected and subsequent legislative action setting up the special election this year.
Vote Counts
In Tuesday voting, 109 persons cast a ballot at the Oconee Central polling place in the Civic Center, 21 cast a ballot at Oconee South at Poplar Springs Baptist Church, 11 voted at Dark Corner at Bethabara Baptist Church, and 37 voted at Oconee Northeast at Marswood Hall.
The county had issued only one absentee ballot for the runoff, and it was not returned.
In the June Party Primaries 487 persons used a Democratic ballot (36.8 percent), and 835 used the Republican ballot (63.2 percent).
Oconee County has 32,553 Active voters and another 1,960 voters who are Inactive, for a total of 34,513 eligible votes.
All of the 34,513 excepting the 835 who cast a Republican ballot in June were eligible to vote in the Democratic Party primary.
The 370 who voted in the Democratic Party primary runoff culminating on Tuesday represents 76.0 percent of the June vote.
Hubbard got 74.9 percent of the vote in Clarke County, where 2,347 ballots were cast, and 63.1 percent in Barrow County, where only 168 votes were cast.
In the three counties that make up District 3, Hubbard received 44.3 percent of the vote in Clayton, 69.2 percent in DeKalb, and 62.8 percent in Fulton.
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