Robinson wins MS Senate District 42 race; Forrest County sees new supervisors
Republican candidate Robin Robinson defeated her opponent Don Hartness in the Mississippi Senate District 42 race, winning with nearly 56% of the vote to Hartness' 44%.
Since there are no other candidates running in District 42, Robinson will fill the Senate seat in January.
The election puts an end to incumbent Sen. Chris McDaniel's 16-year tenure. McDaniel tossed his hat in the ring for lieutenant governor, in hopes of unseating incumbent Delbert Hosemann, but failed to win the Republican primary. He did not run for reelection in the State Senate.
The District 42 race results as with all other primary election results are unofficial tallies until they are certified by the Secretary of State's office. Some of the race results were too close to call at press time.
Local state Senate races
Only one other Senate race in Forrest and Lamar County was contested this year.
District 41 Sen. Joey Fillingane, who has had a long career in the House and Senate, was declared an early winner with 76% of the vote, defeating opponent Robert Cole in the Republican primary. Since there are no other candidates for that race, Fillingane will be sworn in for another term.
District 34 Democrat Sen. Juan Barnett and Republicans John Polk in District 44 and Chris Johnson in District 45 ran unopposed and will serve another term.
Local House races
In the House of Representatives, Republican incumbents Noah Sanford in District 90, Kent McCarty in District 101, Missy McGee in District 102 and Jansen Owen in District 106 ran unopposed. Democrat Percy Watson of District 103 also ran unopposed. The incumbent legislators will resume their respective seats for the new term.
In District 87, incumbent Republican Rep. Joseph "Bubba" Tubb defeated fellow Republican Kim Taylor Fagan.
District 99 Republican Rep. Bill Pigott ran unopposed in the primary and will face Green Party candidate Gregory "Todd" Fortenberry in the November general election.
In District 100, incumbent Rep. Ken Morgan won with a wide margin over Jacob Brogan in the Republican primary.
District 104 Republican incumbent Larry Byrd, with 72% of the vote, defeated Blake Nobles, who brought in 28% of the vote.
Public Service Commissioner, Southern District
Incumbent Dane Maxwell with 3,415 votes was defeated by his opponent Nelson Wayne Carr, who had 4,470 votes, in the Republican primary. No opponents are running. Carr will be sworn into office in January.
Transportation Commissioner, Southern District
Charles Busby ran unopposed in the Republican primary to fill the vacancy that will be left by retiring commissioner Tom King. Busby will face independent candidate Stephen Brian Griffin in November's race.
Forrest County races
The Board of Supervisors will see new faces in January in Districts 1 and 5, as the incumbents are not seeking reelection this term.
District 1 Supervisor David Hogan is running for tax collector. District 5 Supervisor Chris Bowen is not seeking any elected position in the county. Both were first elected in 2007.
Supervisor, District 1
It looks like Republican Gentry Mordia narrowly missed getting the required 50% plus one vote to win the District 1 Supervisor seat. Mordica received 998 votes out of 2,072 counted in the four-way race, giving him 48.2% of the vote. He most likely will face Wesley Clark in a runoff on Aug. 29, who collected 387 votes so far or Herman Dungan, who has 341 votes, without the affidavit ballots counted. Candidate Jeremy Burge gathered 311 votes.
Supervisor, District 2
Incumbent Democrat Sharon A. Thompson with 943 votes defeated her opponent Sheila Angelety, who had 180 votes.
Thompson will face Republican Gerald B. Steele in the Nov. 7 general election.
Supervisor, District 3
Petal Alderman Steve Stringer was able to unseat incumbent Burkett Ross in the Republican primary, winning by approximately 200 votes. Stringer brought in 1,620 votes or 52.5% to Ross' 1,417 votes or 47.5%.
A special election will be held to fill Stringer's seat on the Petal Board of Aldermen once he takes office in January.
Supervisor, District 4
Incumbent Roderick Woullard won a close race against Nicholas "Nick" Brown in the Democratic primary, with Woullard's 548 votes to Brown's 490, but the victory isn't complete. Woullard now must take on Republican Brian Cawthon in November.
Supervisor, District 5
Terri Bell, with 1,394 votes defeated her opponent Douglas "Butch" Benedict, who had 645 votes, in the Republican primary.
Sheriff
Incumbent Republican Charlie Sims ran unopposed in the primary. He will face Democrat Kenny Johnson in November.
District Attorney
Incumbent Republican Lin Carter ran unopposed and will be sworn in for another term.
County Prosecutor
Republican Jack Denton ran unopposed in the primary race but will face incumbent Mary Lee Holmes, who is running as an independent, in November.
Justice Court Judge, Districts 1-4
Democratic District 4 incumbent Robert Davis will face opponent DeCarlo C. Hood in the Aug. 29 runoff. Davis had 424 votes to Hood's 414 votes. Fellow Democrat James M. Fenton took in 196 votes. Since there are no other candidates, the winner of the runoff will be sworn into office in January.
Incumbent Republicans Wes Curry (District 1) and Zachary M. Vaughn (District 2) and Democrat Gay Polk-Payton (District 3) ran unopposed in their respective primary races.
Curry and Polk will be sworn in for a new term. Vaughn will face Democrat Brenda Roberts in the Nov. 7 election.
Circuit Clerk
Incumbent Gwen Wilks ran unopposed in the Republican primary. She will face Democrat David Breland in the November general election.
Chancery Clerk
Incumbent Republican Lance C. Reid ran unopposed and will be sworn in for a new term in January.
Constable, Districts 1-4
Republican incumbents Mike Harris (District 1) and John Tryner (District 2) and Democratic incumbents Jennifer Brown Travis (District 3) and Tommy Joe "Cookie" Cook (District 4) ran unopposed in the primaries. Harris, Tryner and Travis and will be sworn in for a new term with no opponents in the general election. Cook will face Republican Michael Barnes in November.
Tax Collector
David Hogan and Zac Howell will face off for a second time in the Republican runoff after a close race in the primary. Only 17 votes separated the two men. Howell had a slight lead, with 3,637 votes to Hogan's 3,620 votes. A third candidate, Malcolm G. Berch, came in third with 1,213 votes.
Tax Assessor
Incumbent Mary Ann Palmer defeated Cayla Camp Burns in the Republican primary. Palmer will face independent candidate Charles "Chip" Brown in November.
Coroner
Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem defeated Elizabeth Broome in the Republican primary. She will face Democrat Gregory E. Fluker I in November.
Lamar County races
Sheriff
Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel, who was first elected to the office in 2003, won a narrow victory over challenger Joey Walker, who was appointed chief of police of Purvis in 2014.
District Attorney
Incumbent Hal Kittrell ran unopposed and will be sworn in for another term, facing no opponent in the general election.
Supervisor, District 1
Incumbent Steve Lampton, with 62% of the vote, defeated David West in the Republican primary.
Supervisor, District 2
Incumbent Warren Byrd, with 67% of the vote, defeated his opponent Patrick Birchfield in the Republican primary.
Supervisor, District 3
Incumbent Terry Bass led the three-person race to win the Republican primary with 1,351 votes or 57%. His opponents Ford Ramey and Mark Smith earned 243 and 774 votes respectively.
Supervisor, District 4
Incumbent Mitch Brent won with 80% of the vote against opponent Anthony "Tony" Purvis in the Republican primary.
Supervisor, District 5
Incumbent Dale Lucus ran unopposed.
Justice Court Judge, Districts 1-3
Incumbents Bill Anderson (District 1) and Denton Plumlee (District 2) ran unopposed.
District 3 incumbent Charles Greer won with 80% of the votes against opponent Daniel M. Waide.
Constable, Districts 1-3
In District 1, a seven-way race resulted in two candidates taking the lead. Jason Ashley won 1,181 votes out of 3,179 votes or 39%, but it wasn't enough to win the race. He will face runner-up Lance Emfinger, who had 516 votes, knocking out fellow contenders Chip Estes, Bryan Ford, Frank "Gam" Gambino, Dearl Head and Timothy Webb.
Mike Byrd won in District 3 with 63% of the vote over opponents incumbent Emmett "Scooter" Coker and Jimmy Daughdrill Sr.
In District 2, incumbent Chance Curry ran unopposed.
Chancery Clerk
James D. Aultman ran unopposed.
Circuit Clerk
Incumbent Martin D. Hankins ran unopposed.
Coroner
Blake J. Matherne ran unopposed.
County Attorney
Scotty Chabert easily defeated opponent Cynthia A. Re, with 6,780 votes to Re's 2,412 votes.
Surveyor
Marc Broome ran unopposed.
Tax Assessor/Collector
Jack Smith ran unopposed.
Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Election results for Forrest, Lamar County MS
