The Democratic Party flipped several seats and made significant gains during Tuesday’s municipal elections across Mississippi.
The day-to-day functions of municipal government often don’t involve partisan policy decisions. But local elections can gauge voters’ moods before congressional midterms next year and the 2027 statewide election for governor.
The election results as of Wednesday afternoon are not official because local election workers will still process mail-in absentee votes for five business days after the election and process affidavit ballots.
The unofficial and incomplete results of some Mississippi mayoral races on Tuesday:
Gulfport
In one of the most hotly contested municipal elections this year, Republican Hugh Keating defeated Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes.
Keating, an attorney, led Barnes, a former state representative, by roughly 1,110 votes in a race that saw relatively high turnout, according to the Sun Herald. The election drew several prominent national figures to the coastal town, such as U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Toward the end of the campaign, the two campaigns accused the other of skirting election laws. Republicans alleged that a group close to the Barnes campaign was offering meal vouchers to people who voted by absentee ballot, but Barnes denied any affiliation with the organization.
Democrats then cried foul when Rick Carter, a managing partner of Island View Casino, distributed a letter to his employees encouraging them to vote for Keating.
For years, Democratic candidates have attempted to make inroads to break up the GOP’s hold on the Gulf Coast. Polling leading up to the election showed the two candidates were close
Despite Barnes’ loss, Cheikh Taylor, chairman of the state Democratic Party, praised the former legislator for proving Democrats can be competitive in south Mississippi.
Jackson
Longtime state Sen. John Horhn easily won the election to lead Mississippi’s capital city by defeating the Republican nominee and several independent candidates.
Horhn’s general election victory was widely expected after he defeated incumbent Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in the Democratic primary in April. The primary has historically decided who will go on to win the general election.
Vicksburg
George Flaggs Jr., a former state legislator who’s served as Vicksburg’s mayor for more than a decade, appears to have been defeated by Democrat Willis Thompson.
Flaggs, an independent, trailed his Democratic opponent by 61 votes, according to the Vicksburg Post.
Vicksburg City Clerk Deborah Kaiser-Nickson told the Vicksburg Post that results will remain unofficial until 111 affidavits are counted, along with any mail-in votes.
Brookhaven
Incumbent Brookhaven Mayor Joe Cox, a Republican, appears to have lost a close race to Democratic challenger Larry Jointer in Tuesday’s election, with Jointer claiming victory by a margin of 37 votes, according to the Daily Leader.
Jointer would be the city’s first Black mayor.
Greenwood
Incumbent Independent Mayor Carolyn McAdams lost to Democrat Kenderick Cox, who garnered around 53 percent of the vote, according to the Greenwood Commonwealth.
Clarksdale
State Rep. Orlando Paden won the mayor’s race and will replace outgoing two-term Mayor Chuck Espy, who did not run for re-election. Paden defeated two independent candidates.
Horn Lake
Democrat Jimmy Stokes defeated his Republican opponent, Danny Klein. The current mayor, Allen Latimer, did not run for reelection.
According to the Commercial Appeal, just one seat on the city’s Board of Aldermen is currently held by a Democrat.
Now the Democrats flipped the script. A Democrat will take office as the new mayor, and Republicans secured just two seats on the board of aldermen.
Meridian
Former Mayor Percy Bland, a Democrat, will return to City Hall in Meridian after losing his re-election bid four years ago.
Bland won back the mayor’s seat Tuesday over Independent candidate Jimmy Copeland by less than 100 votes, according to the Meridian Star.
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