Incumbent legislators win primaries
Taylor secures first full term, Gibbs readies for November
Incumbent District 38 state Rep. Cheikh Taylor defeated challenger Lisa Wynn Tuesday in the Democratic Primary to secure his first full term in the state Legislature.
Also in Clay and a small part of Monroe County, Democratic state
Rep. Karl Gibbs won the Democratic Primary against challenger Jimmy Davidson and will try to win another term against an independent candidate in the November General Election.
Taylor, a Starkville Democrat, easily won Oktibbeha County — which has the largest number of voters for the district — with 2,333 votes or 76.90%
In Clay County, Taylor won voters from the two precincts, bringing in 217 votes or 53.98%, while Wynn netted 184 votes. Taylor also won the small sliver of Lowndes County in District 38, with 87 votes or 79.09%.
Wynn managed just 23 votes in Lowndes County.
Taylor could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday.
The win secures Taylor's first full term in the legislature, after winning the 2017 nonpartisan special election to fill the unexpired term of longtime state Rep. Tyrone Ellis, who retired earlier that year. He also defeated Wynn in that race without a runoff.
Wynn responded to the results after the election late Tuesday night, saying she gave it her all for her community.
“The voters have spoken and I respect their decision,” she said. “I'm grateful for so many that gave me their support. I wish District 38 the best.”
Wynn, who previously served as an alderwoman for Ward 2 in Starkville and currently works for a construction company in Eupora, declined to comment when asked if she would seek office again in the future.
For Gibbs, the campaign is not over for District 36, as he digs in to face competition in the November General Election from independent candidate Jessica Lofton Lewis.
Gibbs won with 2,139 votes in Clay County, equaling out to 67.24%, while he also pulled the majority of the votes in neighboring Monroe County, with 988 votes or 60.21%.
“I want to thank my constituents in District 36 for allowing me to win this race, my work is not done to win the election, though,” he said, referring to the November General Election. “I just want them to continue to support me.”
In other area legislative races, the following candidates ran unopposed in the primary and will not face competition in November: state Rep. Gary Chism, R-columbus; State Rep. Rob Roberson, R-starkville; state Sen. Gary Jackson, R-french Camp and state Sen. Angela Turner-ford, D-west Point.
For House District 39, a potential upset could be the result of the race between longtime incumbent state Rep. Jeff Smith, a Columbus Republican and Republican challenger D. Underwood Mclean.
According to WTVA 9 News, Mclean led with 2,093 votes overall with 100 precincts reporting, while Smith finished with 1,898. These totals exclude absentee and affidavit ballots that had not been counted by press time Tuesday.