Update: Georgia Insurance Commissioner Race Set for November; Oklahoma GOPs Heading to Runoff
OLDWICK, N.J. //BestWire// - (Adds comment from Oklahoma candidate Marty Quinn, starting in 11th paragraph.) The candidates for Georgia’s insurance commissioner general election are set for November, while Oklahoma Republican commissioner candidates are heading to a runoff following primary elections on June 16.
In Georgia, Keisha Sean Waites pulled in 58.70% of the votes in the Democrat primary to edge out DeAndre Mathis, who pulled 41.30% of votes, according to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State.
Waites’ background includes serving three terms in the Georgia Legislature and as an Atlanta City Councilmember, according to her campaign. She also spent 15 years working with the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Small Business Administration.
If elected, she would aggressively challenge unjustified rate requests, end the use of ZIP codes and credit scores in rate settings and establish a dedicated fraud task force, according to her campaign.
Waites will face incumbent Insurance Commissioner John King in the November general election. King first launched a campaign for one of Georgia’s Senate seats, but ended it as that race got crowded and pivoted to reelection (BestWire, July 25, 2025).
King was first appointed to the commissioner in 2019 after his predecessor was indicted on embezzlement charges. He was reelected to the role in 2022.
King, whose background includes serving in the military and law enforcement, is focusing his campaign on recovering taxpayer money, tort reform, supporting the state-based health insurance exchange and fighting fraud.
In Oklahoma, Republican candidates Bob Sullivan and Marty Quinn are heading to a runoff election that will be held Aug. 25. With all precincts reporting, Sullivan emerged with 37.37% of primary votes compared with 27.68% for Quinn, according to the Oklahoma State Elections Board.
Oklahoma’s primary rules require candidates to secure a majority of the votes, according to the election board. If this does not occur, the two candidates with the most votes move to a runoff.
Quinn previously served in both chambers of Oklahoma’s Legislature and held the role of chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee, according to his campaign website. The Republican candidate also has private-sector experience, having spent more than 40 years growing a local insurance agency.
“We have a really good message about protecting consumers and making prices affordable that we’ve been working on since February of last year," Quinn said.
Although he trailed Sullivan in the primary, Quinn said he garnered a significant number of voters.
Quinn touted his vast experience in "the people business," having grown up on a poultry and cattle farm, worked in his family restaurant growing up and later running an agency.
"You have to be good to people and have a good heart to be successful in the insurance business," Quinn said, noting this outlook served him well during his time in the state's Legislature.
Sullivan would also bring an insurance background to the commissioner role as he is certified as an insurance counselor and risk manager, a chartered property/casualty underwriter and an associate in fidelity and surety bonding, according to his campaign website.
The two Republicans are vying to face off against Craig MacIntyre, the only Democratic candidate in the race. MacIntyre has worked in the insurance world off and on since 1993, primarily on the carrier side in actuarial, product development, risk management, and legislative and government relations, he said in an email.
The Oklahoma candidates are hoping to replace current Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready, who is term limited.
Attempts to gain comment from Sullivan and Waites were unsuccessful.
In California, political organizer and a former San Francisco supervisor Jane Kim and state Sen. Ben Allen, both Democrats, are set as the general election candidates for insurance commissioner (BestWire, June 12, 2026). The winner will replace term-limited Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
(By Steve Hallo, senior associate editor, BestWire: Steve.Hallo@ambest.com)