Newton County voters will head to the polls Tuesday to decide who will represent them at the state, local and national level. On the ballot for this election are both the state’s United States Senate seats, a U.S. House of Representatives seat for the third congressional district, Newton County Chancery Court Judge for District 2, two Circuit Court Judges for District 8, and two seats on the Newton County School Board.
Circuit Clerk Mike Butler said his office has already seen a large amount of absentee voting, which he sees as a sign of a strong voter turnout.
“We’ve already had a good turnout for absentee voting,” he said. “It’s going to be a good election.”
However, to ensure every registered voter has a chance to cast their ballot, Butler said it’s important for residents to know where to go and bring proper ID.
Acceptable forms of ID include a driver’s license, a government issued photo ID card, a U.S. passport, a government employee ID card, a firearms license, a student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi college or university, a U.S. military ID, a tribal photo ID, a Mississippi voter ID card or any other photo ID issued by the United States government.
Butler said voters in Newton should remember Precincts 1 and 5 are in new locations for this election. Voters in Precinct 1 will go to the Third New Hope district building, 308 Old Hickory Road, and Precinct 5 voters will need to go to the Newton Airport lounge, 232 OKeefe Road.
U.S. Senate
Of the two Senate seats on the ballot, one is a regular election to fill the seat previously occupied by Sen. Roger Wicker, who has completed his term. Voters will have the opportunity to choose between four candidates:
Roger F. Wicker, the incumbent who is running for re-election;
David Baria, a Democrat from Pascagoula,
Danny Bedwell, the Libertarian party candidate from Columbus; and
Shawn O’Hara, the Reform party candidate from Canton.
Voters will also decide a permanent replacement for Sen. Thad Cochran, who stepped down from his Senate seat April 1 citing health issues. Gov. Phil Bryant previously appointed then-Secretary of Agriculture Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill Cochran’s seat until a special election could be held.
All candidates for the special election are running non-partisan, which means they are not representing political parties. Circuit Clerk Mike Butler said no primary elections were held to determine the party winners, so no party affiliations will be shown next to the candidate’s names.
“Everyone is running non-partisan since there was no primary,” he said.
On the ballot for the special election Senate seat are:
Tobey Bernard Bartee, from Gautier;
Mike Epsy, a Yazoo City native, who previously served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton;
Cindy Hyde-Smith, who currently serves as Cochran’s replacement; and
Chris McDaniel, who unsuccessfully challenged Cochran in the 2014 election.
If no candidate receives more than 50-percent of the vote Tuesday, Butler said a runoff election will be held Nov. 27.
“That’s the Tuesday after Thanksgiving,” he said.
U.S. House of Representatives
Voters in Tuesday’s election will also decide who to represent Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Third Congressional District. On the ballot for the seat are:
Michael Ted Evans, a Democrat from Preston;
Michael Guest, a Republican, who currently serves as the district attorney for Rankin and Madison counties; and
Matthew Holland, the Reform party candidate.
Local Elections
While voters choose who they want to represent them in Washington DC, they’ll also need to choose who to represent them in the Newton County judicial system. On the ballot Tuesday are Robert M. Logan Sr., who is running unopposed for District 2 Chancery Court Judge and Christopher A. Collins and Mark Duncan, who are both running unopposed for Newton County Circuit Court’s two District 8 seats.
Also, up for election are two seats on the Newton County School Board. Voters Tuesday will need to decide who will fill the seats for the school board’s District C and D seats.
For District D, Josh Sanders, of Little Rock, is running unopposed going into the election. His opponent, Matthew Hitt, also of Little Rock, withdrew from the race shortly after the qualifying deadline in September.
The race for District C, however, is not so one-sided. Residents will cast their votes for either incumbent Mark Savell, a resident of Lake, who currently serves as the school board’s secretary, or Marty McKee, of Conehatta.
Both Savell and McKee said, if elected, they would like to use their term to help Newton County students increase academic achievements.
“I’d like to see us maintain our current level and improve over that current level of achievement as far as the state test scores are concerned,” Savell said.
In the past four years, Savell said, Newton County has made a lot of progress increasing opportunities for students. If reelected for another 4-year term, he said he would work to increase those opportunities even more.
“I’d like to see us have more participation for dual credit courses at community colleges and junior colleges,” he said.
Dual credit courses are classes that offer students credit toward both their high school diploma and college credit that can be applied to their transcripts if they choose to go to college. While Newton County offers some dual credit courses already, Savell said he’d like to offer more dual credit opportunities to students.
Additionally, Savell said, he would like to see the Newton County Career and Technical Center moved to the Peavey Building.
“I would like to see us utilize the gift that we received from Mr. Peavey,” he said. “I’m anxious to see our Career and Technical Center moved to that facility, which would make the current Career and Technical Center available for other things or expansion of the elementary.”
Although he has plenty of ideas, Savell said his reasons for wanting to serve on the school board are simple.
“I would like to see every kid be prepared when they leave school to either enter secondary training, whether it be vocational or academic training, and be able to provide for themselves and those people who depend on them,” he said.
McKee said his goal for the 4-year school board term would be “for the district to reach and maintain an A rating. He said he would work to ensure the school board was fiscally responsible and that the money the district receives is not wasted on unneeded things.
“If elected, I will work to ensure that your tax dollars are spent in the most effective way possible and not spent on unnecessary projects or personnel,” he said.
