2020 Georgia Public Service Commission election

2020 Georgia Public Service Commission election

←  2018 November 3, 2020 January 5, 2021 2025 (special)  →
2 seats of the Georgia Public Service Commission
First party Second party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 5 0 Seats after 5 0 Seat change

The 2020 Georgia Public Service Commission election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect two members to the Georgia Public Service Commission, concurrently with the presidential election, as well as both a regular and special election to the U.S. Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. While Republican incumbent appointee Jason Shaw defeated Democrat Robert Bryant for District 1, Republican incumbent Lauren "Bubba" McDonald was forced into a runoff against Democrat Daniel Blackman for District 4. The runoff was initially scheduled for December 1 but was moved by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to January 5, 2021, alongside the runoff elections for both Senate seats. ^[1]

This was the sixth runoff election held for a Public Service Commission seat since runoffs were first mandated by law in 1964, with the first runoff being held in 1992 alongside a U.S. Senate runoff and successive PSC runoffs having been held in 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2018.

District 1

2020 Georgia Public Service Commission District 1 election

←  2014 November 3, 2020 2028 →

Candidate Jason Shaw Robert G. Bryant Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,445,181 2,255,325 Percentage 50.11% 46.22%

County results Shaw:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Bryant:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Commissioner before election Jason Shaw Republican Elected Commissioner Jason Shaw Republican

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Jason Shaw was appointed by governor Nathan Deal to fill the remaining term of Doug Everett, who resigned in 2019. ^[2] Shaw ran for a full six-year term and was challenged by Democrat Robert Bryant. ^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Robert G. Bryant, travel agent and DEI consultant. ^[4]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert G. Bryant	926,028	100%
Total votes			926,028	100%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jason Shaw, incumbent Commissioner. ^[4]

Results

Republican primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jason Shaw (incumbent)	942,043	100%
Total votes			942,043	100%

General Election

Georgia Public Service Commission District 1 election, 2020 ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jason Shaw (incumbent)	2,445,181	50.11%
	Democratic	Robert G. Bryant	2,255,325	46.22%
	Libertarian	Elizabeth Melton	179,011	3.67%
Total votes			4,879,517	100%
	Republican hold

District 4

2020-21 Georgia Public Service Commission District 4 election

←  2014 November 3, 2020 (first round) January 5, 2021 (runoff) 2028 →

Candidate Bubba McDonald Daniel Blackman Party Republican Democratic First round 2,415,248 49.91% 2,272,969 46.97% Runoff 2,234,689 50.38% 2,200,962 49.62%

First round county results First round precinct results Runoff county results Runoff congressional district results Runoff precinct results McDonald:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Blackman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     40–50%

Commissioner before election Bubba McDonald Republican Elected Commissioner Bubba McDonald Republican

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Lauren "Bubba" McDonald ran for a fourth term in the Public Service Commission and was challenged by Democrat Daniel Blackman. ^[4] Were he to win, Blackman would become only the second African-American member on the Commission in its history, with Democrat David Burgess having served from 1999 until his defeat in a 2006 runoff by Republican Chuck Eaton. Burgess was also the last Democrat to serve on the commission, with McDonald having changed his party affiliation after first being elected. Blackman and McDonald previously ran against each other for District 4 in 2014. ^[8]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Daniel Blackman, senior vice president for environmental affairs and sustainability, CFBA. ^[4]
• John Noel, small business owner. ^[9]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Blackman	762,740	71.64%
	Democratic	John Noel	301,948	28.36%
Total votes			1,064,688	100%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bubba McDonald, incumbent Commissioner. ^[4]

Results

Republican primary results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bubba McDonald (incumbent)	929,919	100%
Total votes			929,919	100%

General Election

First round

Georgia Public Service Commission District 4 election, 2020 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bubba McDonald (incumbent)	2,415,248	49.91%
	Democratic	Daniel Blackman	2,272,969	46.97%
	Libertarian	Nathan Wilson	151,196	3.12%
Total votes			4,839,413	100%

Runoff

Georgia Public Service Commission District 4 runoff election, 2021 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bubba McDonald (incumbent)	2,234,689	50.38%
	Democratic	Daniel Blackman	2,200,962	49.62%
Total votes			4,435,651	100%
	Republican hold

Allegations of improper ballots

Bubba McDonald, the Republican incumbent in the race, won the January 5th runoff by 33,727 votes over Democratic challenger Daniel Blackman. ^[14] The down-ballot race was an anomaly, due to Commissioner McDonald receiving more total votes than any other Republican on the runoff ballot. Republican Incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler both lost their respective races to Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. ^[15] After the runoff election, Daniel Blackman alleged the race may have been missing from some ballots, after receiving reports from voters. ^[16] While "Blackman trailed Republican incumbent Lauren “Bubba” McDonald by over 33,000 votes, or 0.74 percentage points, outside the margin where he'd be entitled to a recount," the Georgia Secretary of State opened an investigation into the matter. ^[16]

After the investigation, as stated in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Georgia election officials say they found no evidence that the Public Service Commission race was left off some ballots, and Democrat Daniel Blackman acknowledged Wednesday that he had lost to Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald." Walter Jones, the spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State's office stated, “We have learned from 2018 to now — from Stacey Abrams to Donald Trump — that false claims and disinformation that an election has been stolen is dangerous to our democracy” In the same AJC article, it was mentioned that "Blackman never alleged the PSC election was stolen, saying he wanted to make sure that every vote was counted." ^[17]

See also

• 2021 Georgia runoff election

References

1. "The Other Race on Georgia's January Ballot". The Intercept. November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
2. "Albany's Doug Everett announces retirement from PSC". The Albany Herald. November 22, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
3. "Robert Bryantt (D)". The Southerner. October 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
4. Landers, Mary (September 25, 2020). "What are Georgia's PSC races about? What to know before you vote". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
5. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
6. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
7. "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
8. "November 4, 2014 - General Election". sos.ga.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
9. "Noel for PSC | A New Journey for Georgia". noelforpsc.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
10. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
11. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
12. "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
13. "January 5, 2021 Runoff Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
14. "Election Night Reporting". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
15. Journal-Constitution, Jim Galloway-The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionGreg Bluestein- The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionTia Mitchell- The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPatricia Murphy- The Atlanta. "The Jolt: Raphael Warnock exults, Jon Ossoff claims victory, and Republicans wonder what happened". ajc. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
16. Niesse, Mark; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Georgia PSC candidate says race may have been left off some ballots". ajc. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
17. Niesse, Mark; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Georgia election officials: Ballots didn't omit PSC race". ajc. Retrieved January 21, 2021.