District 3 Justice Court candidate C. Martin Haug and District 4 supervisor candidate Bricklee Miller are close to becoming Oktibbeha County’s newest elected officials after absentee and affidavit vote tallying efforts were suspended shortly after midnight Wednesday.
Haug and Miller led their respective races in a night where many incumbents racked up re-election victories.
Haug, a Democrat and the only lawyer in the entire justice court field, led his closest competition, Republican Buddy Johnston, 1,279-1,021 after machine votes were tallied. A partial absentee count pushed his lead to a 258-vote margin at the end of Wednesday morning’s processing.
Miller, a Republican vying to become the first woman to serve on the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors, led Democrat Daniel Jackson by five votes — 1434-1429 — before the partial absentee count. The additional ballots pushed her ahead by 55 votes, and about 40 absentees and 57 affidavits in District 4 precincts will be counted today.
Election officials ended hand-tallying efforts before 12:30 a.m., opting instead to hire additional workers and process the remaining votes today. Officials have about 200 absentee and 300 affidavits to tally by hand today, and it is not known how those ballots are split between the districts.
Close supervisor races
Oktibbeha County’s three other contested supervisors’ races were, at times, up-hill challenges for incumbents.
District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard, a Democrat, is poised to win his race against Republican Dennis Daniels after concluding Tuesday with a 941-896 lead.
The Daniels-Howard contest is a rematch of 2011’s closest race, one in which Howard won re-election by three votes.
District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery, a Republican, was also ahead of his Democratic opponent, Donald Thompson, by 224 votes.
Long-serving District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer is projected to win his race against independent Robert “Bubba” Gray. Trainer, a Democrat, led Gray 1,036-583 in the unofficial tally, but was down early in the night.
Jackson, Tagert, Roberson win area races
Familiar names secured victories in area races with strong election showings Tuesday, and a Starkville lawyer will now represent Oktibbeha County in the state House of Representatives.
Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert, a Republican, won his re-election bid Tuesday, defeating Democrat Danny Woods with about 65 percent of the vote.
Tagert, a Starkville resident, held an almost 2,000 vote lead over his opponent in Oktibbeha County.
State Sen. Gary Jackson, R-French Camp, also won another term, defeating Democratic challenger Cecil Simmons with about 61 percent of the District 15 vote.
Locally, Jackson beat Simmons by about 900 votes.
Attorney Rob Roberson is headed back to the state Legislature after securing a victory against fellow Starkville lawyer Paul Millsaps.
Roberson, who previously served as a state representative, won the newly created District 43 seat with about 64 percent of the area vote.
He posted a similar margin of victory — 63.63 percent — in Oktibbeha County.
Local incumbents hold seats
County-wide incumbents were no match to their competition in Tuesday’s election.
Sheriff Steve Gladney posted the night’s largest margin of victory, defeating Republican challenger George Carrithers with almost 80 percent of the vote.
“I’m very appreciative for the show of support and the confidence the voters have placed on me. It’s four more years, and I start back tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t take lightly the duties and responsibilities that go into keeping the county safe.”
Other races with large margins were quickly called Tuesday: Republican Tax Assessor Allen Morgan defeated Democrat John Brown 6,044-4,295; Coroner Michael Hunt, a Democrat, held almost a 2,000 vote lead over his Republican challenger, Chris Pollan; Circuit Clerk Glenn Hamilton, a Republican, fended off Democrat E. Regina Evans by a 1,000 vote margin; and District 3 Constable James Lindsey beat Republican challenger Tim Cook by about 400 votes.
“The people of Oktibbeha County have been extremely good to me. I just hope I can be as good for them as they have for me,” Hamilton said.
Other unopposed incumbents include: Chancery Clerk Monica Banks, District 1 Justice Court Judge Tony Boykin, Prosecutor Haley Brown, Surveyor Tom Gregory, District 1 Constable Shank Phelps, District 2 Constable Curtis Randle and District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams.
Incoming District 2 Justice Court Judge Larnzy Carpenter defeated incumbent W. Bernard Crump in August’s Democratic Primary and was unopposed Tuesday.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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