Newsource reporters gathered information on each candidate in Northeast Georgia to prepare local voters for the midterm elections in this 2026 Election Guide. 

John F. King

Office Sought: Insurance and safety fire commissioner (incumbent)

Party: Republican

Occupation: Georgia insurance and safety fire commissioner, former Atlanta Police Department police officer and Doraville chief of police

Years in Community: Lived in Georgia for 45 years

Candidate’s Election Priorities

Recovering taxpayer money, holding the powerful accountable and lawsuit reform

More Info for Voters

Website: votejohnking.com | Social Media: @johnkingga (Instagram) | @johnkingga (Facebook) | @GA_DOI (X)

Candidate FAQs

Q: Why are you running?

King said he’s running for a second term to “put Georgia families first,” according to his website. King has served as insurance and safety fire commissioner since 2019 and previously worked in law enforcement. He also is also a retired U.S. Army National Guard major general.

Q: What experiences have prepared you for this office?

King said on his website his career in law enforcement, military service and public leadership has prepared him for office. He previously served as an Atlanta police officer and Doraville police chief.

Q: What are the most important issues facing the state of Georgia and what would you do to address them?

According to King’s website, one of his priorities is returning taxpayer money and preventing insurance companies from taking advantage of Georgians. He said he’s returned $100 million from insurance companies to Georgia families in his first term. King said if reelected he wants to address the threat of financial scammers, and said while in office he’s arrested more than 500 arsonists while expanding fraud investigations.

*King did not respond to interview requests. Responses are from his website and social media.

Keisha Sean Waites

Office Sought: Insurance and safety fire commissioner

Party: Democrat

Occupation: Worked in legislative and external affairs division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; previously served Atlanta City Council at-large post (2022-2024); Georgia House of Representatives (2012-2017)

Years in Community: Born and raised in Atlanta; was previously honored for 50-plus years of service to the city of Atlanta

Candidate’s Election Priorities

Enacting a rent freeze initiative, ending zip code and credit score discrimination, and spearheading a consumer fraud task force

More Info for Voters

Website: keishawaites.org | Social Media: @keishaseanwaites (Instagram) | @KeishaWaites4GA (Facebook) | @keishawaites.vote (TikTok)

Candidate FAQs

Q: Why are you running?

Waites said in an interview that she is “somewhat disappointed” in the current political climate. Waites said she has seen her own homeowner’s policy double within the last three years, experienced trouble with automobile insurance switching from full coverage to liability and expressed concern for the 1.8 million Georgians who have no health insurance.

“Insurance companies are not acting in good faith, yet no fines have ever been collected right. And when the fines are collected, those funds go back to the general assembly,” Waites said. “They don’t go to consumers who have been harmed.”

Q: What experiences have prepared you for this office?

Waites served three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. As a “woman-of-faith,” she said she sees herself as uniquely qualified for the role.

“I served 27 presidential declarations,” Waites said in an interview. “So I served on Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Katrina, I worked on (Hurricane) Maria. I worked some of the biggest disasters that you have seen  including the BP oil spill. I’ve seen where many companies went under because even though they paid their premiums and did everything they were supposed to do, these companies, for different reasons, whether it be policy or legislation — it didn’t work out for them.”

Q: What are the most important issues facing the state of Georgia and what would you do to address them?

Waites said she strives to bring relief to families that are dealing with colossal rates by bringing in more competition for insurance companies.

“Right now in the state of Georgia, if you are harmed by the activity of an insurance company that has committed fraud, when the company is fined those funds go back into the general fund. They don’t go back to the consumer,” Waites said. “We want to make sure that some of those funds go back to the very people who were hurt by those policies.”

Waites said she also strives to end credit score and ZIP code discrimination, a strategy where insurance companies determine risk and rates. She emphasized expanding access to healthcare, particularly in rural communities where hospital closures have forced families to travel long distances for care.

“Rural hospitals are closing left and right,” Waites said in the interview. “I have families driving 50 to 75 miles to get healthcare and coverage. There is nothing patriotic about that. There is nothing civil about that, and that, to me, is a colossal failure. As the insurance commissioner, I want to use that bully pulpit to lobby, to ensure that individuals have access to healthcare and that there are hospitals that are neighboring.”

Q: What is one accomplishment you hope to achieve during your office if elected?

Waites said she strives to put together a score card within her first 100 days that rates insurance companies and provides detailed ratings on the company’s customer service. She also said she plans to put together a team to investigate appeal denials to determine if they were applied under reasonable circumstances.

“Right now insurance companies are using AI tools to determine risk rates and applied denials. The most expensive entity that you have in your life — it’s going to be your home and your vehicle right?” Waites said in an interview. “Someone is using an AI tool to make a determination regarding your claim on your home and your farm on your business and that is wrong.”

Q: What is one thing you want voters to know about you? What is your message to younger voters, such as UGA students?

Waites said she wants voters to know that she has a strong background in legislation and police that can aid the community in facing challenges due to “bad policy.”

“Consumers have not been the priority over profit,” Waites said. “We need to make sure that we’re taking care of Georgia families.”