Oxendine puts his money machine to work for Ralph Hudgens
John Oxendine may not understand his duty to protect Georgia consumers or follow the state’s campaign ethics laws, but if there’s one thing he does understand, it’s how to raise money. In Macon on October 27th, Oxendine will be putting his money machine into high gear to raise money for his hand-picked successor, Ralph Hudgens.
Mary Squires, Hudgens’ Democratic opponent, said, “From his repeated brushes with the Ethics Commission, we learned that John Oxendine doesn’t think Georgia’s campaign finance laws apply to him. Maybe that’s why he was cited numerous times for taking illegal campaign contributions. Now, he’s going to help Ralph Hudgens rake in campaign dollars from the same insurance interests that controlled the Insurance Commissioner’s office under Oxendine.”
The similarities between Ralph Hudgens and John Oxendine are frightening. Like Oxendine, Hudgens was sanctioned by the Ethics Commission for accepting over $106k in illegal contributions. Insurance interests have bank-rolled his campaign, contributing nearly half of his total contributions. Since becoming the Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee 6 years ago, Hudgens has accepted over $20,000 in gifts from lobbyists. What would you expect from someone who decided to run because insurance lobbyists asked him to?
“Ralph Hudgens is bought and paid for by insurance lobbyists. While Ralph is downing shrimp cocktails with John Oxendine, traveling the country to attend football games, eating at five star restaurants, and staying in swanky hotels, I’ll continue to talk to the people of Georgia about protecting their families and their pocketbooks. When you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas,” said Squires.