Three local races will be on the Aug. 29 second primary ballots in Webster County, with no statewide or state-district runoffs.
All runoffs will be a continuation of the first Republican primary held Aug. 8. Only registered voters who voted in that party’s primary or those who did not vote at all in the first primary may vote in the runoff elections.
The runoff for chancery clerk will be the only race on all ballots countywide; the others are in Supervisor District 3 and Justice Court District 1.
Following are the candidates in those runoffs, along with their vote totals and percentages (rounded off) from the first primary. The figures given are according to unofficial results with absentee and affidavit ballots. The results do not include two voter ID affidavits; voters have five days to bring their photo ID to the Circuit Clerk’s Office in order to be counted.
• Chancery Clerk: Michael Kolb (944 votes, 35%) and Ken Norwood (942 votes, 35%).
• District 3 Supervisor: Incumbent Randy “Poochie” Rico (274 votes, 49%) and Jason Burney (251 votes, 45%).
• Post 1 Justice Court Judge: Cody Carden (712 votes, 45%) and Donnie Wofford (595 votes, 37%).
The runoff winner for chancery clerk will advance to November to face Democrat Regina Dean Reed in the general election. The winners of the other two runoffs have no opposition in November.
Saturday absentee voting will be available from 8 a.m.-noon Aug. 19 and 26 at the Courthouse.
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Hopper New
District Attorney
In an update to last week’s election coverage, Adam Hopper of Grenada won the open seat for district attorney in the Republican primary, according to published reports. His opponent was Rosalind H. Jordan of Kosciusko.
Vote totals were unavailable from the seven counties in the 5th Circuit Court District, but Hopper carried Webster by a 76% margin.
Instead of waiting until January to take office, Hopper stepped into the role Tuesday after Gov. Tate Reeves appointed him to serve the remainder of Doug Evans’ term. Evans retired in June instead of finishing out his term.
“Adam Hopper has a distinguished record as a prosecutor and an impressive legal career,” Reeves said in a Monday announcement. “I have complete confidence that he will bring the highest degree of integrity and professionalism to this position and wish him all the best in this new role.”
Since July 2006, Hopper has served as an assistant district attorney for the 5th Circuit District. There, he was responsible for prosecuting felony cases, conducting grand juries and handling jury trials.
Hopper earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law, and both his MBA and bachelor’s degree from Troy University.
Additionally, Republican Rep. Karl Oliver of Winona did win another term in House District 46. He received 64% of the vote against challenger Bill Downs of Carrollton. Oliver had 68% in his Webster County precincts.
