Seth Harp is doing all he can to make his name stick out in voters' minds. As one of nine Republican Insurance Commissioner candidates in the July 20th primary field, the Columbus attorney and former Marine realizes that name recognition will likely be the difference between qualifying for the runoff and spending the next four years puzzling over what went wrong.
Harp, 67, visited Fayette County earlier this week to promote his candidacy. With his wife Linda and former Peachtree City mayor Harold Logsdon in tow, he visited libraries, fire stations and other locations throughout the county to shake hands, pass out informational literature and ask for votes.
Logsdon was the 10th Republican candidate in the race, but dropped out in April because of a cancer diagnosis. He has since undergone successful treatment and has endorsed Harp, a fellow military veteran who "shares his values and vision for Georgians."
"I'm running for this office for three basic reasons," Harp explained during a sit down interview Wednesday.
"As an attorney who also holds a pharmacy degree, I have the education, knowledge and background to do this job well. I have a proven history of ethics from my time in the General Assembly, and I will bring very high standards to an office in need of reform.
"And finally, I have a superb working relationship with almost everyone in the state house and senate, which will allow me to transform the office of Insurance Commissioner into a forward-looking department that can better serve the people of this state."
Harp is giving up a powerful position in the Georgia General Assembly to seek the Insurance Commissioner job. As Senate Chairman of both the Higher Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee, he carries significant clout under the Gold Dome.
But Harp says his abilities to build bridges and promote reform are now best suited for the office being vacated by Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine.
Harp is candidly critical of the sitting insurance commissioner and GOP gubernatorial frontrunner, calling him "the only person from either party in the governor's race who I have problems with."
"I'm a stickler for ethics and I'm not happy with the Insurance Commissioner's office," Harp said. "It is supposed to be there to protect the consumer, but [Oxendine] has been running the office as a fundraising arm for his governor's campaign. I have no intention of using the Insurance Commissioner job as a launching point for higher office."
While national healthcare reform has been a hot topic in the race, Harp admits that the state insurance commissioner will play only a small role in implementing the new federal health care rules. However, if elected, Harp intends to use the office to regulate the types of plans insurance companies can sell to Georgians. He is a self-described advocate for preventative care, which he insists is the best way to bring healthcare costs under control.
"There has been no forward-looking reform coming from the Insurance Commissioner's office," Harp stated.
"It should be utilized to reach out and enforce positive change by drafting legislation and bringing new ideas to the table. That is what I bring to this race."
Harp's opponents in the GOP primary are Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Ralph Hudgens, attorney Maria Sheffield, House Insurance Committee Chairman Tom Knox, Alpharetta businessman Gerry Purcell, Hazlehurst insurance agent Dennis Cain, Moultrie attorney Rick Collum, Savannah insurance agent John Mamalakis and Acworth insurance agent Stephen Dale Northington.
Democrat Mary Squires and Libertarian Shane Bruce will represent their parties in the November general election.
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