A runoff election could be held April 2 between Karl Gibbs and Eddie Longstreet for the District 36 State Representative seat if unofficial returns hold.
Gibbs held a 182-vote lead over Longstreet as of 8:30 a.m. today, while Longstreet held a slim second-place lead over Jeannie Johnson-Staten by five votes.
A runoff will be held since a candidate failed to receive a majority of Tuesday’s vote. The winner of that race will serve through the current four-year term which ends January 2016.
Voters in Lowndes, Clay and Monroe counties took to the polls Tuesday to pick between six candidates. Circuit clerk representatives for Clay and Monroe counties reported unofficial results last night which did not factor in affidavit and absentee ballots.
A Monroe County spokesperson said the county would tend to six or seven affidavit ballots today. An affidavit total was not available from Clay County.
Gibbs led with 837 votes, followed by Longstreet (655) and Johnson-Staten (650). Other candidates – Jimmy Davidson (339), Bobbie C. Davis (339) and Roderick Van Daniel (172) – trailed significantly.
Gibbs had his highest vote tally in Clay County, where he earned 696 votes unofficially. Johnson-Staten trailed him there by 58 votes, while Longstreet notched 451 votes.
Unofficially, Longstreet led Monroe County by 56 votes at the end of the night. Van Daniel (143) came in second in the county, while Gibbs (138) and Davidson (135) earned over 100 votes. Davis and Johnson-Staten combined for 30 total Monroe County votes.
Only 13 Lowndes County voters cast their ballots yesterday. Unofficially, five voters supported Longstreet, while three voters each supported Gibbs and Davis. Johnson-Staten picked up two Lowndes County votes.
House District 36 was left vacant when former Rep. David Gibbs, D-West Point, died Jan. 13. David Gibbs served since 1993. He was 76.
Tuesday’s election was the second special-call vote this year for the area. Miss. Sen. Bennie Turner, D-West Point, died in December, and a special election was held Jan. 15 to fill his seat. Turner’s daughter, Angela, won that race.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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