Circuit Clerk Amy Burdine stated that voter turnout on August 6 was about average for Choctaw County, with around 50% of registered voters casting ballots.
Voters in District 5 used the new Voting Works machines; this district was the only one in the entire country to use the new machines.
Burdine said that the machines appeared to have functioned properly without any real glitches.
The August 6 election complete with several local winners and stage set for the Nov. 5 election.
District Offices
The state legislators whose districts include Choctaw County will be returning to office because none face opposition in the general election and the only one with a primary challenger came out on top. All of the incumbents are Republicans.
Rep. Joey Hood of Choctaw County faced Billy Tabb of Eupora for the District 35 House seat in the Republican primary. Hood received over 70% of the vote districtwide and nearly 72% in Choctaw County.
Unopposed for reelection was District 15 Sen. Gary Jackson of French Camp.
John Caldwell of Nesbit and Geoffrey Yoste of Oxford will meet in a runoff election for the Republican nomination for Northern District transportation commissioner. Districtwide, Caldwell received 33% of the vote and Yoste captured 26% in the five-person Republican primary race.
Trey Bowman of Ackerman carried Choctaw County with 65% of the vote, followed by Yoste and Caldwell. The other Republican candidates were E.A. Hathcock and Jeremy Martin.
Caldwell is a former DeSoto County supervisor, and Yoste is a defense contractor and a retired officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The runoff winner will face Democrat Joey Grist of Tupelo, who was unopposed, on Nov. 5 in the race to succeed Republican incumbent Mike Tagert.
Unopposed in the Democratic primaries were District Attorney Doug Evans and Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley. Each is assured of another term with no opposition in the general election.
State Races
At the state level, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves led the Republican ticket for governor with about 49% to former Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller’s 33%. With no candidate getting a majority, they will be in a runoff.
Reeves carried Choctaw County . Attorney General Jim Hood vanquished seven candidates in the Democratic primary and received 71% of the vote.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor against Shane Quick of Lake Cormorant and handily carried Choctaw County. Hosemann will face state Rep. Jay Hughes of Oxford, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, in November.
In the race for attorney general, Treasurer Lynn Fitch led the field but will face attorney Andy Taggart in the Republican runoff. Fitch carried Choctaw County. The Republican nominee will face Democrat Jennifer Riley-Collins in the November general election.
These nominees were the respective primary winners in other statewide races:
• Secretary of State: Democrat Johnny Dupree, former mayor of Hattiesburg, and Republican state Sen. Michael Watson of Pascagoula.
•Treasurer: Democrat Addie Lee Green of Bolton (unopposed) and Republican David McRae, an investment manager and department store heir from Ridgeland.
• Auditor: No Democratic candidate ran and Republican incumbent Shad White was unopposed.
•Insurance Commissioner: Democrat Robert E. Amos and Republican incumbent Mike Chaney (both unopposed).
• Agriculture Commissioner: Democrat Rickey Cole and Republican incumbent Andy Gipson (both unopposed.
Absentee Voting
The circuit clerk’s office at the courthouse i will be open from 8 a.m.-noon the next two Saturdays, Aug. 17 and 24, for absentee voting.
A person must vote in the same primary on Aug. 27 as they did on Aug. 6, or may vote in either if they did not vote at all in the first primary and met the July 29 voter registration deadline for the primary runoff election.
Listed below are the unofficial returns for Choctaw County.
DEMOCRATIC BALLOT:
Governor:
• Michael Brown 139
• William Compton, Jr. 25
• Jim Hood 809
• Robert Ray 41
• Robert Shuler Smith 48
• Gregory Wash 16
• Velesha P. Williams 100
• Albert Wilson 22
Lt. Governor:
• Jay Hughes 986
Secretary of State:
• Johnny Dupree 627
• Maryra Hodges Hunt 432
Attorney General:
• Jennifer Riley Collins 964
State Treasurer:
• Addie Lee Green 952
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce:
• Rickey L. Cole 980
Commissioner of Insurance:
• Robert E. Amos 950
Public Service Commissioner-Northern District:
• Brandon Presley 1117
Transportation Commissioner-Northern District:
• Joe T. ‘Joey’ Grist 961
District Attorney-District 5:
• Doug Evans 1040
Choctaw County Chancery Clerk:
• Steve Montgomery 1197
Choctaw County Coroner:
• Keith Coleman 1195
Choctaw County Sheriff:
• Brandon Busby 998
• Doug McHan 331
Choctaw County Tax Assessor-Collector:
• Lori Power Kerr 1191
Supervisor-District 1:
• Larry Jobe 107
• Joey Stephenson 151
Supervisor-District 2:
• Robert ‘Bobby’ Bright 58
• Henry L. Brown 95
Supervisor-District 3:
• Mitch Weeks 186
Supervisor-District 4:
• Antonious ‘Tony’ Kimbrough 140
• John Avery Shumaker 267
• Ryan Hunter Vowell 56
Supervisor-District 5:
• Charlie B. Edwards 68
• William D. ‘Bill’ Peden 70
Justice Court Judge-Post 1:
• William A. ‘Andy’ Stephenson 435
Justice Court Judge-Post 2:
• Jan Hutchinson 362
• Teresa Weeks 455
Constable-Post 2:
• Roy Dunn Carter 418
• Christopher R. Coleman 368
REPUBLICAN BALLOT:
Governor:
• Robert Foster 368
• Tate Reeves 785
• Bill Waller, Jr. 347
Lt. Governor:
• Delbert Hosemann 1188
• Shane Quick 224
Secretary of State:
• Sam Britton 617
• Michael Watson 784
Attorney General:
• Mark Baker 278
• Lynn Fitch 739
• Andy Taggart 416
State Auditor:
• Shad White 1285
State Treasurer:
• Eugene S. ‘Buck’ Clarke 632
• David McRae 769
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce:
• Andy Gipson 1339
Commissioner of Insurance:
• Mike Chaney 1354
Transportation Commissioner-Northern District:
• Trey Bowman 949
• John Caldwell 183
• E.A. Hathcock 41
• Jeremy A. Martin 51
• Geoffrey O. Yoste 210
State Senate-District 15:
• Gary Jackson 1391
State House of Representatives-District 35:
• Joey Hood 1081
• William ‘Billy’ Tabb 424
Choctaw County Chancery Clerk:
• Kenny King 1309
Choctaw County Circuit Clerk:
• Amy Burdine 1433
Choctaw County Sheriff:
• Kevin Connell 1136
Supervisor-District 1:
• Warren Miles 210
Supervisor-District 2:
• Greg Fondren 302
• Paul ‘Stacey’ Johnson 64
• Robin U. Woods 36
Supervisor-District 3:
• Chris McIntire 255
Supervisor-District 4:
• Bobby Burton 89
Supervisor-District 5:
• Mark Bruce 289
• Eric B. Chambers 205
Justice Court Judge-Post 1:
• Phillip Smith 722
Justice Court Judge-Post 2:
• Justin L. Gates 265
• Thomas Harold Raybourn 524
Run-off elections will be held Tuesday, August 27. With general election set for Nov. 5.
