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Georgia Republican and former deputy insurance commissioner Jim Beck has been elected as the state’s next insurance commissioner, according to final election results.

In a close race against insurance agent Janice Laws in the state election to replace Georgia Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, who decided not to seek re-election this year, Beck won by approximately 130,460 votes, the Georgia Secretary of State’s posted on its elections site Nov. 17 after 100 percent of the precincts had reported.

The Nov. 6 race had been too close to call in the days following the election and the state’s elections overall faced slow reporting of results due to voting issues in several counties.

Beck thanked his supporters in an e-mail on Nov. 20, saying he was “honored and humbled to have earned your vote to serve as your next Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Commissioner.”

“I am excited to spend the next four years working hard to ensure the Georgia consumer is always put first! … I am very excited to take office on January 14th. I will stay true to my promise of transparency, defending against fraud, accessibility, and protecting consumers,” Beck said in his email.

He also congratulated and thanked his election opponents on “the hard-fought race they ran and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.”

Beck, who announced his candidacy in Aug. 2017, has more than 30 years of experience working in the industry, including for an independent insurance agency, and serving for 12 years as a director for a Fortune 150 property and casualty insurance company.

During his public service, he served as Deputy Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ and Safety Fire Commissioner for the State of Georgia, He was most recently chief of staff for Hudgens.

According to his campaign website, Beck said his top priorities if elected would be to focus on Georgia health care solutions centered on a free market system. His other priorities would include defending against insurance fraud against seniors and veterans and protecting consumers from “runaway” auto insurance rates.

In June, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Beck’s state work records had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. Beck’s campaign released a statement to the AJC at the time saying Beck didn’t know what the investigation was about and that he was not in a position to comment on it. Last month, AJC.com reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has yet to release any information on the case.

In a post on her Facebook page on Nov. 17, Laws, a 16-year-veteran of the insurance industry and current owner of her own agency, J. Laws & Associates, also thanked her supporters and vowed to “continue the next leg of the journey in the work that lies ahead for Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Reform in Georgia.”

Topics Georgia