Atlanta - Ralph Hudgens and his opponent in the race for Insurance Commissioner met last night for a debate organized by the Atlanta Press Club. The debate offered voters an opportunity to hear firsthand from Ralph Hudgens, a successful small businessperson, and lawyer/lobbyist Maria Sheffield. 

On two separate occasions, Hudgens asked Sheffield to fully explain to Georgia voters why she continues to lobby the Department of Insurance even during this campaign. Candi Sprague, Campaign Manager for Ralph Hudgens, said that "according to documents obtained via the Open Records Act, within three days of the July 20th Primary Election, Ms. Sheffield was at the DOI lobbying the very staffers she seeks to have the power to hire and fire. It is unseemly." 

"Yet even tonight Ms. Sheffield failed to explain why her large Atlanta law firm continues to lure clients by promoting Sheffield's services as lobbyist on the same web site where they promote her campaign," added Sprague. She continued, "The taxpayers of Georgia deserve real answers on an issue as vital as ethics. Ms. Sheffield's dodging is proof that she cannot be counted on to bring meaningful ethics reform to the Department of Insurance."

Sprague also believes the debate shed light on the extremely negative campaign Ms. Sheffield has run. "Maria Sheffield has daily issued attack after attack, even going so far as to question Ralph's Christian faith. Just this week, Sheffield's campaign manager issued a blistering press release attacking the Georgia Christian Coalition for granting Ralph Hudgens an A+ rating for his 14 years of conservative leadership in the Georgia General Assembly."

For questions, please call Candi Sprague at 706-424-8009