Political Shift: Voters In The County Favor GOP Ticket
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WATER VALLEY – The August 8 Primary Elections were historic in the county as more voters cast a ballot in the Republican Primary than the Democratic Primary. The shift comes after county voters overwhelming voted a Democratic ticket for many decades.
Yalobusha County Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney reported that out of a total of 2,434 votes cast in the primaries last Tuesday– 51.8 percent (1,261 voters) voted a Republican ticket and 48.2 percent (1,173) voted a Democratic ticket. Burney also reported that with a total of 7,943 registered voters in the county, the voter turnout for the primaries was 30.5 percent.
By comparison four years ago, just under 53 percent of the county’s 8,736 registered voters (at that time) cast a ballot in the 2019 August primaries with 11.75 percent (540) voting on the Republican ticket and 88.25 (4,057) voting on the Democratic ticket.
The low turnout in last week’s primaries was expected as both the Republican ballot and Democratic ballot were the slimmest in the county in decades with only one locally contested race and a handful of statewide positions with multiple opponents.
In the local race, incumbent District 2 Supervisor Kenneth Rogers won a third term with 61 percent of the vote. Rogers faced two challengers in the Democratic Primary, Demetrius Armstrong and John Perkins. Rogers received 246 votes, Armstrong tallied 144 votes and Perkins received 14 votes. With Rogers receiving the majority of the votes cast (50 percent plus one), there will be no runoff for this position. With no Republican or independent candidates qualifying for the District 2 Supervisor position, Rogers will be unopposed in the November General Election.
Looking at statewide races, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann won the heated GOP primary. Hosemann defeated state senator Chris McDaniel and Tiffany Longino with 52 percent of the votes cast statewide. McDaniel, a four-term state senator, received just under 43 percent of the votes and Longino received 5.26 percent.
Hosemann carried Yalobusha County, receiving 748 or 59 percent of the votes cast in the Republican Primary. Hosemann is heavily favored in the November General Election against Democratic challenger D. Ryan Grover.
Other contested races on the GOP ballot include:
• Governor – Incumbent Tate Reeves easily won the Republican nomination with 74.71 percent of the votes statewide. In Yalobusha County, Reeves received 77.1 percent of the votes. He will face Democratic candidate Brandon Presley in November.
• Commissioner of Insurance – Incumbent Mike Chaney received 80 percent of the votes cast statewide in the primary. In Yalobusha County, Chaney received 77 percent of the votes cast. Chaney will face Democratic challenger Bruce Burton in November.
• Public Service Commissioner – Chris Brown won the Republican nomination with 61 percent of the votes cast statewide. In Yalobusha County, Brown received 63 percent of the votes cast, and Tanner Newman received 37 percent of the votes. Brown is unopposed in November.
A second contested race on the Democratic ballot:
• Commissioner of Agriculture – Robert Bradford, Sr. carried the three-way race with 52 percent of the votes cast statewide. In Yalobusha, Bradford received 41 percent of the votes cast. Bradford will face Republican incumbent Andy Gipson in November.
Voters will return to the polls in November for the General Election to cast a ballot in four remaining locally contested races in addition to state races. Incumbent sheriff Jerimaine Gooch is seeking re-election as an independent candidate and will face Republican challenger Roger Pollan. Independent candidates Brad Willingham and Michael Walton are seeking the tax assessor/collector position. Incumbent District 1 Constable Ralph Horton, a Democrat, will face independent challenger J. Caleb Horton. In the final contested race, independent candidate Donald Gray and Democratic candidate Terry Rockette are seeking the office of Chancery Clerk.
