Republican state Sen. Ralph T. Hudgens will be the new Georgia insurance and fire safety commissioner. Hudgens defeated Democrat Mary Squires, garnering 54 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Squires. Hudgens will succeed fellow republican John Oxendine as insurance commissioner. Oxendine, who has served as commissioner since 2004, decided to leave the post to run for governor but lost in the Republican primary Libertarian Shane Bruce came in a distant third in the insurance commissioner race with 4 percent of the vote.