The special election for the Ward 5 city council seat appears to be heading for a runoff.
None of the four candidates vying to replace former councilman Kabir Karriem garnered more than 50 percent of the vote. Karriem vacated his seat at the end of 2015 to begin his term in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Marthalie Porter led the field with 354 votes, for 42.14 percent. Stephen Jones drew 254 votes for 30.24 percent; Gary Jefferson drew 223 votes for 26.55 percent; and Cadarrall Eddings drew 9 votes for 1.07 percent.
City officials said approximately 30 affidavit votes will be counted beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Jones and Porter will face off in the runoff, which is set for March 1.
Both candidates said they were happy with Tuesday’s turnout–840 of Ward 5’s 3,175 registered voters cast a vote.
“I’m really excited to be in the runoff,” Porter said. “I think there’s a lot of momentum going. I’m just going to keep doing my best — making those phone calls and knocking on doors.”
Jones also said he’s excited to have made it to the runoff and looks forward to the next vote.
“There was a great turnout today,” he said. “Now it’s just about getting people out to vote again.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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