Interesting takeaways from Tuesday’s election

Published 9:08 am Friday, November 8, 2019

With Tuesday’s election past us, there are some events that are of note and might have gotten lost in the shuffle of ballots and election results.

While elections are never a foregone conclusion, the race for Warren County Sheriff was arguably over before it started. And, as the results were slowly being announced Tuesday evening, the size and scope of Sheriff Martin Pace’s victory quickly became clear.

When all of the boxes reported, the unofficial results showed Pace had received more than 10,000 votes. Lee Kennedy received 1,278 votes, while Joseph Stubbs received 625 votes.

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As the tabulations came to a close, Pace made comments about how an election is an elected official’s report card and how he never takes the votes of the public for granted. That is both understandable and honorable.

Given the results from Tuesday, and those from previous elections, the grades given to Pace on his report card from voters in Warren County were and still are all A’s.

In the race for Warren County Prosecuting Attorney, Ken Harper cruised to a huge victory over fellow challenger Stephen McMillin and incumbent Ricky Johnson.

While all three campaigned hard, it appears one of the most significant differences in the race was an early endorsement by former Judge John Price for Harper.

Under the category of “every vote counts,” the race for the District 4 seat on the Warren County Board of Supervisors did not come to an end until more than four hours after the polls closed Tuesday evening because of how close the race was.

After each of the precincts in District 4 had reported, Jeff Holland held a 46-vote lead over Marty Crevitt.

While that would have been enough to claim victory, the decision had to wait until 93 absentee votes from that district were counted. Once the absentees were counted, Holland could celebrate a win by 57 votes.

As for the Warren County Board of Supervisors which will see four new officials beginning in January, the sweeping changes brought about by the election will likely result in more changes.

In their first meeting in January, the board will appoint or reappoint individuals to the following positions: county administrator, county attorney, county engineer and road department supervisor. The board will also select a board president and vice president.

With District 2 Supervisor William Banks being the only incumbent returning, it will be interesting to see what direction this board will take in those positions.

As for statewide elections, Vicksburg native Delbert Hosemann was elected the state’s next lieutenant governor. His election places him in a much stronger position to affect the direction of the state over the next four years.

While the governor is the state’s top governmental position, the individual elected lieutenant governor is in charge of the state Senate and has significant influence over the state’s budget and finances.

And if you think the excitement around election day is over, just wait. Voters will be asked to head back to the polls in March when Mississippi holds its presidential primaries.