Low or pretty good?
While voters continue to go to the poll today to cast ballots in the Democratic and Republican primaries, the expected turnout varies.
Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Teresa Barksdale, noting limited contested races in the Republican primary, doesn’t expect big numbers of voters.
“We had a fair amount of absentee votes, 255, but we’ll have to see,” Barksdale said. “With (the primary being in March this year) and Mississippi being one of six states to hold primaries and the small number of candidates, I’ll just say it: I expect turnout to be low.”
There are no competitive races on the ballot Lowndes Republicans cast today other than President. District 1 House of Representative Trent Kelley and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith are unopposed while Donald Trump has two opponents — Rocky de la Fuente and Bill Weld in the GOP presidential primary.
In the District 1 House race Antonia Eliason is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
There figures to be more drama in Oktibbeha County, which skews more Democratic than its neighbor to the east. Oktibbeha County Deputy Circuit Clerk Sheryl Elmore expects a better turnout.
“I think turnout will be pretty good,” Elmore said. “We had 513 absentee votes, which is about 200 more than four years ago. I know we were slammed with absentee voters Thursday and Friday. So I do expect the turnout to be good.”
The highlight on the Democratic ballot is the presidential battle. Although there are 10 candidates on the ballot, all but three have dropped out of the race. The contest is shaping up to be a showdown between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, although Tulsi Gabbard also remains in the race.
In the U.S. Senate race, Mike Espy, defeated by Hyde-Smith two years ago, faces two candidates – Tobey Bartles and Jensen Bohren.
Some voters in Oktibbeha County will cast ballots for 3rd District House of Representatives. On the Republican side, incumbent Michael Guest faces James Tulp. In the Democratic primary, the 3rd District race pits Dot Benfield against Katelyn Lee.
Polls remain open until 7 p.m.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Harriet Foley, left, trades her voter card for an "I Voted" sticker from poll workers Vance Watson and Tommy Prentice this morning at the Starkville Sportsplex polling place. Prentice said he has been a poll worker for seven years and expects low turnout in a primary, but several voters came in before 9 a.m. Polls are open until 7 p.m. Photo by: Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff
Theresa Barksdale
Cheryl Elmore
