NU Online News Service, Nov. 3, 3:05 p.m. EDT

As many as half the nation's insurance commissioners could be new following Tuesday's elections, as one incumbent commissioner lost her bid to be re-elected while Republicans won the governor's office in 10 states.

Oklahoma Democrat incumbent commissioner Kim Holland, the vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), lost to challenger John Doak.

Of the four elections for insurance commissioner on Tuesday, the only incumbent commissioner to keep the seat was Sandy Praeger in Kansas, and she ran unopposed.

It looks as if Democrat Dave Jones beat out Republican Mike Villines in California, and Ralph Hudgens, a Republican, won over his Democratic opposition, Mary Squires, in Georgia.

Commissioners are elected in 11 states. In all other states, insurance commissioners are appointed by the governor, which means many more new faces will be introduced by newly elected governors.

Of the states that do not elect commissioners, possibly two dozen will welcome in new governors due to term limits on the previous governor, incumbents choosing not to run, or incumbent defeats.

Before the election, Democrats held a 26-23 advantage in governorships, with one Independent governor. Today the Republicans have a 27-15 advantage (with one Independent winner in Rhode Island), while as many as seven races are too close to call–including in some key states such as Florida, Connecticut and Illinois.

Incumbents were running for re-election in 14 states–Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and Utah. They lost in Ohio, Indiana and Iowa.

NAIC President and Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan E. Voss could be headed out as incumbent Gov. Chet Culver, D, lost his bid for re-election.

Some say Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, NAIC president-elect, could be out no matter who wins the governor's seat out of Alex Sink, a Democrat, and Republican Rick Scott. Republican Jeff Atwater won the race to become the state's chief financial officer. The office has oversight of the Office of Insurance Regulation.

No matter the outcome of the race for governor, new commissioners will also be appointed in Nebraska, Virginia and Connecticut due to resignations.

In most cases new commissioners are appointed even if the open governors' offices remain in the hands of the same political party, said Neil Alldredge, senior vice president of state and policy affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC).

"People want their own guy, and it is a natural place [for commissioners] to look for something else," he said. The office is typically considered a stepping stone in careers.

Some state legislative races were downright surprising, Mr. Alldredge said. For instance, Republicans gained control of the legislature in Alabama and North Carolina for the first time since before 1900.

The industry will have to sit back and wait for agendas to take shape because insurance is not normally a talking point during an election in most states.

"There is going to be a major shift in the people in power, and that means that priorities will change," Mr. Alldredge said. "It is too soon to tell what that will mean, but we hope the changes mean we can get away from playing defense on issues like credit scoring and bad faith and move toward an offensive approach to make reforms."

He said the transition to a new commissioner could differ from state to state. If a new political party won the governor's office, Mr. Alldredge said he can see a quick appointment. But if the office remains in the hands of the same party, a new commissioner might not be named as fast.

Special Reports /

After Elections, New Commissioners Could Number 25

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