Three weeks of campaigning will come down to Tuesday when voters decide who will serve the remaining year of the late Terry Brown’s state senate term.
Bobby Patrick and Chuck Younger advanced to Tuesday’s runoff after a four-candidate race during the Nov. 4 special election for the District 17 seat.
Younger got the most votes in all 19 participating precincts during the first election and more than 5,000 total for 42 percent of the 12,000-plus votes cast. Patrick picked up 26 percent with just over 3,000 votes.
The runoff was necessitated because neither candidate garnered 50 percent plus one of the total vote.
Nearly 38 percent of Lowndes County voters cast ballots that day. Circuit clerk Haley Salazar said while runoffs tend to draw lighter turnouts than general elections, she is hopeful that Tuesday is an exception to that rule.
“We certainly hope we do,” Salazar said. “The candidates have worked hard. The election commission and my staff have worked hard getting ready. We just need the voters to do their part.”
She added that her office has seen steady absentee voting participation.
“Hopefully, that’s an indication that we’ll have a voter turnout,” Salazar said. “There seems to be a lot of interest, so that’s a good thing.”
The other two candidates vying for Brown’s seat were Bill “Doc” Canon and Bill Gavin. Canon, who held the District 17 post from 1979-2003, finished third with 20 percent of the vote. Gavin finished with 12 percent.
Since Nov. 4, Canon has taken to social media to endorse Patrick. Gavin said he would not endorse a candidate.
Younger, 51, has farmed and ranched in Lowndes and Monroe counties for more than 30 years. Patrick, 68, retired in 2011 after nearly 40 years as an insurance agent.
Patrick said he believes his chances are better to win the runoff and has been taking his campaign to neighborhoods more since the first election.
“We have been on the campaign trail as hard as we can go,” Patrick said. “We’re knocking on every door we can possibly knock on. I believe our voters will return. I believe Dr. Canon’s voters will return and I think most of Bill Gavin’s voters will return. I’m just enjoying the opportunity of getting back and meeting more people in Lowndes County.”
Younger said he, like Patrick, was trying to reach out to as many voters as possible and encouraged voters to get out to the polls.
“I still have a lot of family and friends that are helping. We’re trying to even go door to door in some spots,” Younger said. “It’s been busy and hectic and we’ve been putting up a few more signs. The people that have been supporting me, I’ve been trying to think about them and show appreciation for helping me with my campaign.”
The runoff winner will fill Brown’s term, which expires in 2015. Brown died in September after a battle with cancer. He held the District 17 post since 2003 and was named Senate President Pro Tempore in 2012.
District 17 comprises northern, eastern and western portions of Lowndes County including a majority of Columbus. The district will have new boundaries next year when the current term expires to include eastern Lowndes County as well as a portion of Monroe County.
State senators are paid a $10,000 salary each year plus per diem.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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