Mississippi elections updates: Delbert Hosemann wins GOP primary for lieutenant governor

Voters across Mississippi headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in statewide, legislative and local county primary races.

While some of these races will give a clear picture of general election matchups, others in places where only candidates of one party are running effectively serve as the general election.

The Clarion Ledger will provide live updates throughout the evening.

Election results: Check back here for results as they come in.

11:33 p.m.: Hosemann wins primary for lieutenant governor

In the most hotly contested of the statewide primaries, Lieutenant governor Delbert Hosemann has defeated challenger Chris McDaniel in the race for the state’s No. 2 job.

The contentious race was called at 11:33 by Decision Desk HQ, an election results reporting agency providing results and race calls for the USA TODAY Network.

McDaniel, an ultra-conservative firebrand of a state senator, had attempted to brand Hosemann as “Delbert the Democrat,” but the message didn’t stick. Hosemann had nearly 32,000 votes more than his opponent, whom he had accused of never accomplishing much in the state senate, which the lieutenant governor supervises.

About 93% of the vote had been tallied.

More on the Lt. Governor primary: Hosemann defeats McDaniel in MS lt. gov. primary, then calls for campaign finance reform

10:55 p.m.: McDaniel makes speech

Chris McDaniel made an appearance at his election night event at the Biloxi Visitors Center at about 10:30 p.m. and made a speech without conceding as the race was still 52% for his opponent Delbert Hosemann to McDaniel's 43%. A third Republican challenger Tiffany Longino had 5.4% of the vote.

10 p.m.: Crisler is 'disappointed' in race results, blames voter turn-out

Marshand Crisler hosted friends and close family at his home in North Jackson and watched the results come in with his wife, Eva Crisler, who is a candidate, running for the Hinds County Board of Supervisors District 1 seat.

Crisler said he was disappointed with the race results and blamed it on voter turnout, saying more education is needed when it comes to the importance of voting.

Hinds County elections: Tyree Jones wins handily in sheriff's race. See supervisors winners

Crisler also questioned the timing of a federal indictment released in April that accused him of accepting bribes and selling ammunition to a convicted felon while serving as interim sheriff in 2021. He believes it has impacted his chances of winning in the race.

“You have to be suspicious about the timing because allegedly this happened two years ago, so why wait?” Crisler said. “If I’m honest, I’m absolutely suspicious of the timing of this indictment.

He did say he wishes Jones the best during his time as Hinds County Sheriff.

“I wish him well. I hope he certainly spends a lot of time speaking with his constituents and speaking with other law enforcement experts to develop a comprehensive plan to address crime in a very effective and efficient way,” Crisler said. “So I just wish him godspeed and good luck in whatever direction his career takes him.”

10 p.m.: McDaniel supporters gather, wait

Friends and supporters of Lt. Gov. candidate Chris McDaniel gathered at the Biloxi Visitors Center Tuesday night.

McDaniel, who was trailing incumbent Delbert Hosemann, had not yet made an appearance at the party as of approximately 9:15 p.m. and guests mingled and watched the returns while listening to live music and dining.

9:55 p.m.: Hosemann widens lead in GOP lt. gov. primary

With nearly two-thirds of the votes counted statewide, incumbent Delbert Hosemann had extended his lead in the race to retain the lieutenant governor’s seat against State Sen. Chris McDaniel.

Hosemann had 124,570 votes tallied as of 9:55 p.m., good for about 51.64% of the vote. McDaniel had 103,804 votes, good for 43.03%, with 63% of the total votes for the state recorded.

Tiffany Longino may be playing a factor into the race, with more than 13,200 votes cast for her, good for about 5.38% of the vote.

9:40 p.m.: Tyree Jones declared winner in Hinds County sheriff race

In the Democratic primary for sheriff, which was a repeat of the special election with incumbent Tyree Jones and former interim-Sheriff Marshand Crisler, Jones ran away with the race.

With 29% of the vote counted, Jones recorded 5,398 votes to Crisler's 870. Jones captured 85.91% of the vote.

The vote was called by Decision Desk HQ, an election results reporting agency providing results and race calls for the USA TODAY Network.

9:35 p.m.: Tate Reeves thanks supporters

Gov. Tate Reeves' brother Todd introduced him to the crowd gathered at the Old Capitol Inn to celebrate Reeves being declared the winner of the Republican primary Tuesday night.

“He has done exactly what he promised,” Todd Reeves said. “He has taken care of the people of Mississippi. I'm proud that we were taught to keep God first in all we do.”

He said in the coming three months, “you will hear some terrible lies about Tate and our family,” but quoting from a song, he said, “around here, we take care of our own. Right now. I want to introduce you to one of our own, Gov. Tate Reeves.”

Tate Reeves thanked Mississippians and his wife, Elee.

“I want to thank all of you here tonight who have prayed for us,” Tate Reeves said. “I want to leave this state better than I found it. … our state is headed in the right direction. … Mississippi has the momentum. And this is Mississippi's time.”

He said Mississippi will never be last again and that Mississippi is the envy of the nation.

He said his opponents are “Biden, Bennie and Brandon.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are not going to let Biden, Bennie and Brandon run our lives,” Tate Reeves said.

He touted some of his administration’s accomplishments, including in education and the economy and said Mississippi has the smartest students in the country and that the per capita income in the state is up 30% while business investment in Mississippi is at a record high bringing good jobs with them.

He promised to eliminate the state income tax and said under his administration Mississippi has the largest tax cut in the state’s history, while at the same time teacher pay has risen above the regional average. He also touted the investment in the Capitol Police to “make our capital city safer.”

9:06 p.m.: Hosemann surges to strong lead

The counties in the Jackson metro area have helped incumbent Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann to a strong lead over Chris McDaniel as of 9 p.m.

With about 24% of the state’s ballots counted, Hosemann led by around 6,800 votes, which was better than a 7.5% lead.

The race was the most hotly contested of the statewide contests this year, with many of the other primaries seeing blowouts.

9:05 p.m.: Tyree Jones thanks supporters

Friends and supporters or Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones turned out for his election watch party in downtown Jackson with approximately 80 people watching the result roll in.Jones, a Democrat who had taken an early lead in the race against his primary opponent, Marshand Crisler, said he is excited to see how the night turns out.“I want to thank God and my beautiful family for the continued support as well as the community,” Jones said. “I look forward to sharing the night and conversation those who came out to support tonight.”

With 29% of the vote in Hinds County tallied, Jones had nearly 86% of the total vote.

8:50 p.m.: Reeves to speak at party

More than 100 people gathered at the Old Capitol Inn in downtown Jackson Tuesday night for Gov. Tate Reeves’ election night party.

Speaking shortly before most media had declared Reeves the winner, Joan Fabbri, a member of the Mississippi Republican women, said Gov. Tate Reeves is a devoted husband and father.

“His values and principles are aligned with the values and principles in Mississippi,” Fabbri said. “I respect that. That's why he should be governor.”

Reeves’ brother, Todd, was scheduled to speak at 8:30 p.m. before Reeves speaks around 9 p.m.

State Treasurer David McRae, who spoke before Todd, said it was a great night for the Republican Party.

"After tonight, we are all Republicans," McRae said. "We are all going to get along, and there will not be a single Democrat in the state as long as we're in charge."

Terry Reeves, the governor’s father who attended the party said, “All they have to do is look at his record. And what he has done for the state,” mentioning education and the economy.

Harold Weess, a retired Trustmark employee who was at the party said he has known Tate Reeves since he was 12 or 13 years old.

“I think he has done a wonderful job,” Weess said. “He will do what he thinks is right. He will not let someone else dictate to him. He is just a brilliant person cannot say enough good about him.”

8:40 p.m.: Lt. governor race neck and neck

The race for lieutenant governor has tightened. With about 10% of the vote counted, State Sen. Chris McDaniel has now received 18,697 votes to incumbent Delbert Hosemann’s 18,552. That’s a lead of .36%.

Only 8% of Hinds County had been counted as of 8:40, with Hosemann possessing a strong lead in the state’s capital and most populated county.

The tight race is a culmination of an aggressive campaign.

Reeves declared winner in GOP primary

Gov. Tate Reeves has been declared the winner of the GOP primary in the race for the governor's seat. Reeves, the incumbent, had around 71% of the vote with 7% of the state's ballots cast.

John Witcher sat in second with 19.7% of the vote.

The vote was called at 8:21 by Decision Desk HQ, an election results reporting agency providing results and race calls for the USA TODAY Network.

8 p.m.: McDaniel takes early lead in lt. gov race, bolstered by Memphis area

Early returns showed firebrand State Sen. Chris McDaniel with a lead over incumbent Delbert Hosemann in the Republican race for lieutenant governor. McDaniel was bolstered by counties in North Mississippi, including the Memphis area.

With 57% of the votes counted in DeSoto County, McDaniel had 49.62 % of the vote in that county to Hosemann’s 42.65%.

Overall, McDaniel led by about 6.5 percentage points at 8 p.m., with 6,383 votes to Hosemann’s 5,504. Only 3% of the votes statewide had been counted, and results could change dramatically over the course of the evening.

7 p.m. Rankin County Districts 4 and 5

After work, voters filled up the hallways at Oakdale Baptist Church precinct in Rankin County’s District 4. The precinct had more than 15 people waiting in line at 6 p.m.

Modean Cross, the precinct’s poll manager, said there were no issues with any equipment failure or rowdy voters throughout the day. The only problem her precinct experience was having to ask a child, who came with their mother, to turn his shirt inside out because it had the name of one of the candidate's names on it, which is illegal.

Cross estimated that more than 800 people had voted thus far.

At the Flowood Library precinct in Rankin County’s District 5, the voting line was out the door. The precinct is the second biggest in Rankin County serving over 4,000 voters. Brandon City Hall is the largest and serves over 5,000.

Poll manager Bill Gilmore said he estimated the precinct saw around 900 voters today.

Gilmore said that around 6 p.m., the power had gone out partially in the voting room, but no voting machines were affected.

7 p.m. – Polls are now closed, results to come

Polls closed in Mississippi at 7 p.m. Though long lines were a rarity across the state throughout the day, if someone is still in line and was there before 7 p.m., they can still vote as long as they remain in line.

Results will be posted live on the Clarion Ledger website for statewide and Hinds County races.

Election results: Check back here for results as they come in.

2 p.m.: Brandon City Hall, Rankin County, District 3

The Brandon City Hall precinct reported approximately 800 ballots submitted by 2 p.m. Poll Manager Margaret Thompson said the majority of voters so far have been seniors over 60. Thompson has been a poll manager for 25 years.

"When we opened this morning we were busy, it was lined-up," Thompson said. "It's slowed down, but it's picking back up."

1:48: Light turnout at Madison polling place

Ronnie Sims of Madison was one of approximately 500 voters who had cast their ballots in party primaries by 1:45 p.m. at the Pilgrim Rest MB Church polling place Tuesday.

“We have a lot going on in Mississippi,” Sims said. “It is very important to vote.”

Sims said the abortion issue and races for governor and lieutenant governor were important to him in Tuesday’s primaries.

Turnout was light throughout the day at the Madison polling place compared to other elections, poll workers said, adding they were hopeful the turnout numbers would pick up later in the day.

1:45 p.m.: Voting varies in Crystal Springs

A steady stream of voters came through the J. T. Biggs Jr. Memorial Library in Crystal Springs during lunch.

"We're having a pretty good day," said poll manager Linda Tobias. "We're up to 241 Democrats voted. For a primary, it's a little higher (than average)."

On the Republican side, only 46 votes were cast.

"They've been slow coming in," said Linda Murray, receiving and returning manager. "It's always slow over here on the Republican side."

Louis Dixon came in during lunch to cast his votes. In the primary election, he said a local race is of most interest to him.

"The most important race for me is probably the Copiah County supervisor because we're concerned about what's happening in the community," Dixon said. "We want to see that we're doing all we can to meet the people's needs."

On a statewide level, he said the Lt. Governor's race will be a concern for him in the General Election.

"The Lt. Governor's race is very important," Dixon said. "We realize so much change is going on in Jackson and in our schoolhouses. We want to see less ungodliness going on and we want someone who is straightforward."

12:45 p.m.: Confusion over machines at Jackson precinct

On Tuesday morning Clarion Ledger reader Joanna Greene described via email difficulty voting at the precinct located at Jackson Fire Station 26.

Greene said she only intended to cast a ballot for governor, but when she fed her paper ballot into the machine an error message popped up. She said she was instructed to complete the other sections of her ballot, but she only wanted to vote in the governor's race. Voters are not required to vote in every race on the ballot. Green said she was then told she could void her ballot and come back later, which she said she planned to do.

Shirley Harrison, of the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office, said Tuesday afternoon that after she heard from Greene county election commissioners were sent to the precinct. Harrison said that the poll worker at the precinct is new and did not know that a voter can confirm they want to leave sections blank when the machine responds with the error message, and if they do so the vote will be counted.

"The commissioner went out to tell the workers what the process is," Harrison said. "The election commission did not do the training. The training is done by the Republican and the Democratic parties. This is a party election, not a county election. I don't know if she did not go to training, if she did not hear that in training, I don't know, but she has been retrained today."

Harrison emphasized that poll workers for primary elections are trained by the state's political parties, not by Hinds County election commissioners.

"I do apologize to the voters for the misunderstanding, but they were not trained by the Hinds County election commission," Harrison said.

A spokesperson for Secretary of State Michael Watson said that their office has been in communication with Hinds County throughout the day, and they were looking into the matter.

1 p.m.: Rankin County, Districts 1 and 2

At noon, poll workers reported a steady turnout all morning at the Trinity Baptist Church. The church is a precinct in Rankin County's District 1. An estimated 300-350 have hit the polls so far in the morning, according to Steve Roberts, the precinct's poll manager.

Roberts said he expects it to pick up once the school day is over, as well as into the night when voters get off work.

A constant stream of voters made their way into the precinct at Lakeside Presbyterian Church located in Rankin County. A line of 10 voters was waiting patiently with more making their way inside at 1 p.m. Poll manager Michelle Loftin counted more than 450 ballots submitted so far.

First time voter Qadre Latiker, 18, said he was slightly nervous as he made his ways to the polls. A graduate of Northwest Rankin High School, Latiker was voting alongside his mother, Latisha, who, as a present for his birthday and Easter earlier this year, gave him a voter registration sheet.

"It was a little nerve-racking because there's a lot of names, but I did a little research on who I was voting for," Latiker said after voting.

For the Latikers, voting is a way of life, Latisha said.

"It's amazing because it was the first time with my son," Latisha said. "Voting is a lifestyle, it's a habit, it's who we are. So, voting is never not an option, but doing it with my son for the first time was one of the most amazing experiences."

Latiker is moving to Tallahassee in a few weeks to attend school at Florida A&M University, but he still plans on participating in Mississippi elections.

"I'll be an absentee voter, but I'm still voting," he said.

11:15 a.m.: Turnout in Northeast Jackson low but steady

At the precinct at New Jerusalem Church in Northeast Jackson poll workers said turnout had been slow, but typical for a non-presidential election.

As of 11:15 a.m., 127 people had voted in the Democratic primary, and 50 people had voted in the Republican primary.

11 a.m.: Rain moves across state

As rain moves through most of North and Central Mississippi, showers could be seen in Hinds and Madison counties Tuesday morning. Supporters of candidates could still be seen holding signs in the rain on major roads like Lake Harbour Drive in Ridgeland and Old Canton Road in Jackson.

8:30 a.m.: Voting in Hattiesburg is moderate

In Hattiesburg, candidate supporters waved signs along Hardy Street near the Hardy Street Baptist polling place. Poll workers said voting has been moderate since the polls opened at 7 a.m.

Voting also was off to a good start at Hattiesburg Cultural Center precinct. Voters were turning out at a steady pace, poll workers reported.

Voting in the Arcadia-Sunset neighborhood was brisk at the Community Bible Church precinct.

7 a.m. — Polls Open, with some location changes

Polling places across Mississippi opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m.

Two precincts had their locations changed in Hinds County as of late Monday. Precinct One, typically located at the Eudora Welty Library, was moved next door to the Old Capitol Inn due to accessibility issues for voters with disabilities.

In Clinton, the precinct previously located at Sumner Hill Middle School was moved to the Clinton Fire Station.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi elections live updates: Governor, Lt. Governor results