Local State House, Senate special elections head to runoff
With affidavit ballots counted, both of Tuesday’s special elections are headed into runoffs on Oct. 13.
In the District 15 Mississippi State Senate race, Starkville business owner Bart Williams will face Webster County educator Joyce Meek Yates for the seat. The senate seat became open following the resignation of longtime French Camp Republican Sen. Gary Jackson on June 30. Jackson stepped down due to health issues after nearly 17 years as a state senator.
Counting affidavit ballots, Williams managed to receive approx
imately 34% of the vote, while Yates received approximately 28%.
The remaining two candidates were Mississippi Horse Park Director and current Oktibbeha County District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller, who secured approximately 25% of the vote and Ackerman used car dealer Levon Murphy Jr., who garnered approximately 14% of the vote.
District 15 includes parts of Starkville and the western portion of Oktibbeha County, as well as parts of Webster, Choctaw and Montgomery counties.
In the District 37 race, former Lowndes County School District Superintendent Lynn Wright and Columbus entrepreneur David Chism will vie for the seat held by former Columbus Republican Rep. Gary Chism since 2000. Gary Chism, who is a distant relative of David Chism, stepped down on June 30 citing his wife’s health issues.
Wright fell just short of the required 50% to win outright, coming in at approximately 49% of the vote. The lion’s share of his support came from Lowndes County, where he received 1,146 votes, compared to only 83 in Oktibbeha County and 178 in Clay County.
David Chism was able to garner approximately 32% of the vote, coming in first place in both Oktibbeha and Clay Counties, with 189 and 201 votes, respectively. In Lowndes County, he came in second place, with 436 votes.
The third candidate in the race, West Point motivational speaker Vicky Rose received approximately 19% of the vote, with 529 votes total.
In Oktibbeha County, the election commission accepted 27 of the 55 affidavit ballots cast, not counting two pending affidavit ballots.
Unofficial Oktibbeha County totals with affidavit ballots for District 15 are Williams-1,460 votes, Miller-1,358 votes, Yates-557 votes, Murphy-523 votes.
For District 37 the totals are David Chism-189 votes, Rose-131 votes, Wright-83 votes.