A prosecuting attorney from Noxubee County and an optometrist from Meridian finished a solid one-two in a nine-person race for the vacant District 32 seat in the Mississippi State Senate.
Rod Hickman, of Noxubee County, picked up 1,677 votes districtwide, barely clipping Dr. Minh Duong who finished with 1,611 votes. Keith K. Jackson of Kemper County was third at 934, while Kim Houston of Meridian was 910.
Hickman, who had 24 percent of the vote and Duong, who had 23 percent, will meet in the run-off on Nov. 23. Polls will be open in the district from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Stan Copeland finished fifth at 771 votes, followed by James Creer with 544, Justin Curtis Creer, 300, W.J. Coleman, 136, and Bradley Joseph Sudduth, 90.
In Winston County, Coleman received 53 votes, Stan Copeland received 72 votes, James Creer received 7 votes, Justin Creer 13, Minh Duong received 271 votes, Rod Hickman received 300 votes, Kim Houston 150, Keith Jackson 264 and Bradley Sudduth 23.
A total of 1155 persons turned out to vote in Winston County for the Nov. 2 election. Many are worried about low turnout for the Nov. 23 special runoff election.
In Kemper County, Copeland, of Preston, led with 544 votes, followed by Hickman with 457, and Jackson with 427. The rest of the Kemper County tally saw James Creer receiving 341, Minh Duong, 215, Justin Creer 194, Houston 149, Coleman 27 and Sudduth 10.
Hickman had strong numbers in both Noxubee, Winston and Kemper counties, while Duong garnered most of his support from Lauderdale County.
District 32 includes all of Kemper County and parts of Lauderdale, Noxubee and Winston counties in eastern Mississippi. Democratic Sen. Sampson Jackson stepped down June 30, saying he was ready to retire after a long career in state government.
The remaining part of the four-year legislative term expires in early 2024.
