Dive Brief:

• Incumbents are poised to retain the vast majority of their seats in the ten states that held elections for public service commissions on Nov. 3, while one seat in Louisiana is headed to a run-off.

• New Mexico has ended its Public Regulation Commission races, with 56% of voters approving a constitutional amendment that will reduce the body from five commissioners to three, with all three members to be appointed by the governor.

• COVID-19 response and the federal Green New Deal get shout-outs as commission campaigns draw to a close.

Dive Insight:

Voters have retained the majority of incumbent utility commissioners up for reelection this cycle, but in a handful of states, particularly those with no incumbents on the ballot, still face tight or undecided commission races.

Incumbents will retain seats in Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama, where local media report Republican incumbent Twinkle Cavanaugh set a record for the most votes won by a non-presidential candidate in a contested state race. Cavanaugh won 62% of the vote and, in a statement released following her victory, expressed opposition to the Green New Deal proposal, characterizing it as an "attack" from big government that could jeopardize Alabama's economy.

"We will support our workers and small businesses with energy and economic policies which brought unprecedented prosperity and record-low unemployment," she said.

Arizona's contest for three available commission seats remained too close to call as of Wednesday night, with Democrat Anna Tovar, incumbent Republican Lea Márquez Peterson and Republican James O'Connor taking the lead by small margins. Tovar, who has claimed the lead with 17.8% of the vote, has called for new rules to regulate the commission's susceptibility to conflicts of interest and for more ambitious renewable energy targets during her campaign.

Georgia's Public Service Commission race also remains undecided, although Republican incumbents Jason Shaw and Lauren "Bubba" McDonald have taken the lead with 51% and 50% of the votes, respectively.

For the Democrats, Foster Campbell has retained his seat on the Louisiana Public Service Commission, but his fellow incumbent, Republican Eric Skrmetta, is headed to a run-off with his Democratic challenger Allen Borne.

Foster had highlighted his role in the creation of policies that prevented utility disconnections during COVID-19, created credits for power outages, and banned re connection fees for survivors of domestic violence during his campaign. Skrmetta's campaign emphasized cuts to utility rates and savings to ratepayers , while Borne positioned himself as an "advocate for the people."

Montana has also voted to retain an incumbent in Tony O'Donnell, while Republican James brown defeated Democrat Tom Woods for a second seat. Republican Jennifer Fielder leads the race for the third and final seat up for grabs.