PSC election update: Where do campaign finances stand before the primary?

With just two days left of early voting before the Public Service Commission primary election on June 17 for Districts 2 and 3, the latest round of  campaign finance disclosures is mostly in.

Candidates had until June 9 to file their June 2 disclosures, but as of June 11, not all the reports  appeared on the Georgia Ethics Commission website. 

This was, in the case of Lee Muns at least, the Republican challenging incumbent Tim Echols, due to technical difficulties. Speaking to Atlanta Civic Circle by phone on Wednesday, he said that he had submitted his disclosures a day late, but only because the online portal lacked a drop-down option for his race. 

The Georgia Ethics Commission, which oversees campaign finance disclosure reports, did not initially clarify why Muns, along with Republican District 3 incumbent Fitz Johnson and Democratic nominee for District 2 Alicia Johnson, had no disclosures reported in their online portal. A spokesperson for the commission said they would look into whether there were “technical difficulties.” The typical fee for a late filing is $125. Both candidates are uncontested in their respective primaries, and did not return emailed requests for comment.

After publication a spokesperson for the commission said on Thursday that the commission would follow up with Fitz Johnson and Muns to get their disclosures online and that a “tech error” prevented Alicia Johnson’s disclosure report from showing.

Alicia Johnson’s June 2 disclosure shows she has raised $23,187, with $13,810 cash on hand.

Muns said he reported about $7,000 in fundraising, all loans from himself, and $11,000 in expenses. Despite being outraised and outspent by Echols by a wide margin of about 25 to 1, Muns said he was “in it to win it” and putting in the sweat equity of “driving 1,400 miles” and attending events in-person nearly every night this week. 

Campaign expenses typically cover costs like staff salaries, events, and voter outreach. For example, it would cost around $1,400 if Muns or Echols sent a single text message to the 16,434 voters who’ve already cast a Republican ballot in the June 17 primary. 

In the most recent disclosure, Echols reported $118,939.68 raised and $121,673.74 spent, with $138,320.14 cash-on-hand going into the primary. For the entire election cycle, Echols has raised $230,362.20. Unlike Muns, he accepted funds from executives, managers, and attorneys associated with regulated utilities. Echols’ June 2 disclosure includes: 

• $8,400 from a Sanderson Railroad executive.
• $2,950 from various Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) executives.
• $2,250 from six Gas South executives and managers.
• $1,750 from five Oglethorpe Power executives, managers and attorneys. 
• $1,000 from a Darien Telephone company executive.
• $500 from an ATT executive.
• $500 from a Southern Gas executive.
• $500 from a Southern Company manager.

Meanwhile, in the District 3 Democratic primary field, the race is anyone’s game after the disqualification of Daniel Blackman, who was viewed as a favorite and received an endorsement and an $8,400 check from Georgia Conservation Voters, plus $8,400 from Climate Cabinet PAC. “GCV has no plans to endorse any other candidate in the District 3 Democratic primary,” the group said in a May 29 statement. 

Blackman raised $37,738 and spent $19,556.09, according to his June 2 disclosure. 

Here’s where the rest of the field stands:

Robert Jones’ campaign remains mostly self-funded. His disclosure reports a $19,980 war chest, $19,000 of which was loaned to himself, and it he appears he has spent it all. He’s also already filed the first two-day disclosure required every 48 business hours until Election Day, reporting a $4,000 contribution. 

Peter Hubbard is also running an almost entirely self-funded campaign, reporting $35,200 raised, $35,000 of which is a loan to himself. In a text message to Atlanta Civic Circle, he shared that he has spent the entirety of the loan on a text messaging service to reach voters.

Keisha Waites is also running a mainly self-funded campaign, reporting $6,866 raised, nearly half of which is loans from her campaign committee, the remainder is from four individual donations. Waites reports less than $1,000 left in her coffers.

According to salary data reported by the Georgia Data Analytics Center, a Public Service Commissioner earned a base salary of $131,157 in fiscal year 2025.

Note: this story was updated to include new information from the Georgia Ethics Commission including Alicia Johnson’s campaign finance disclosure.