State Sen. David Parker, a Republican from Olive Branch, announced on Thursday that he will not run in an upcoming special election, creating an open Senate seat in DeSoto County and making him the second incumbent to forgo the special election.
Parker, who has served 13 years in the Legislature, wrote on social media that the recent death of his childhood friend and the founding surgeon in Parker’s eye-care practice weighed heavily on his decision to leave public office.
“Their loss has served as a powerful reminder of how precious our time is, and it reaffirmed my desire to devote more intentional time to my family and to the next chapter of life,” Parker said.
Even though Parker was elected to a new four-year term in 2023, a federal three-judge panel ruled last year that the state’s current legislative maps didn’t comply with federal voting laws and diluted Black voting power.
The federal panel then approved a new state legislative map that redrew five House districts and nine Senate districts, one of which was Parker’s.
Parker did not cite this as a reason for his retirement, but state officials also changed his district to a slightly majority-Black district. If the DeSoto County lawmaker drew an opponent, he likely would have spent this year facing a competitive election cycle.
Sen. John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg, also announced earlier this year that he will not run in the special election because of health reasons. The redistricting plan placed Polk in the same Senate district as state Sen. Chris Johnson, a fellow Hattiesburg Republican.
The two departures come at a time when Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the Senate’s presiding officer, has clashed politically with House Speaker Jason White and, at times, with Gov. Tate Reeves. The Republicans have battled over Medicaid expansion, the state’s public pension system, school choice legislation and crafting a state budget.
Polk and Parker were two of Hosemann’s most loyal lieutenants in the 52-member chamber, so the two departures could create more political challenges for the lieutenant governor as he faces pressure from his fellow state leaders.
The last day candidates can qualify for the redistricting special elections is Monday, June 9. Party primaries will take place on August 5 and the general election is on November 4.
Three more special elections in the Legislature will also take place soon, though they will happen on a different timeline, set by the governor, than the 14 special elections to account for redistricting:
Sen. John Horhn, a Democrat from Jackson, will soon resign after he was elected the new mayor of Jackson Rep. Orlando Paden, a Democrat from Clarksdale, will soon resign because he was elected as the new mayor of Clarksdale. Sen. David Jordan, a Democrat from Greenwood, recently announced he was retiring from the Legislature. Read More Details
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