STARKVILLE — Jim Mills has retained his seat as Justice Court judge for District 3.
Mills, a Democrat, clinched his second consecutive term by 249 votes over Republican Buddy Johnston. Mills received 49.6 percent of the votes, and Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis announced Thursday that the three candidates in the race would face a runoff later this month because a candidate must earn at least 50 percent of the votes to win an election.
On Friday, after speaking with the assistant attorney general for the election, McGinnis announced Mills retained his seat because justice court judges are not a part of the non-partisan judicial act, which applies to circuit and chancery court judges.
Mills is in his second stint as a justice court judge.
Mills served from 1972-1984 before leaving the bench for a time. He returned in 2008 and is finishing the first term of his second stretch.
McGinnis hopes to have to have all of the Oktibbeha County election results certified by Monday after they’re certified by the Statewide Election Management System. The process has taken longer because Oktibbeha County has four state representative districts, all of which are split in throughout the county. All county results must be certified by election commissioners before SEMS certifies the results.
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