Pierre Beard will face incumbent District 41 Rep. Kabir Karriem in a November special election for the state representative seat.
The current Ward 4 Columbus councilman, who lost his re-election bid in the municipal election June 3, qualified as a Democrat, a candidate list released Friday by the Secretary of State’s office confirmed.
The special races come after a panel of federal judges ordered the Mississippi Election Commission to redraw certain legislative districts after ruling the 2022 maps diluted Black voting power in DeSoto and Chickasaw counties. As a result, other counties also saw a change in district lines, including House Districts 39 and 41, which both include parts of the Golden Triangle.
After approving the redrawn House map in April, the panel of judges ordered more than a dozen special elections to take place in November, including in the two local districts.
Incumbent Republican Dana McLean is running unopposed in District 39.
Beard did not respond to requests from The Dispatch for comment this week. In an email to media members, he said he plans to give an official statement at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Municipal Complex. That is the same time and location as the final city council meeting of his term.
Karriem said he also plans to officially announce his campaign next week, but he had not confirmed details by press time Friday.
Absentee voting for the Aug. 5 primaries will begin June 21. Absentee voting for the Nov. 4 general election will begin Sept. 20.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
