Who are the candidates in Mississippi’s primary? Here’s what Coast voters need to know.
Mississippi’s primary election is Tuesday, March 10, when voters will choose nominees for president and U.S. Congress.
“We’re hoping for a good turnout next Tuesday,” said Kendra Necaise, the newly-elected circuit clerk in Hancock County.
But if requests for absentee ballots are any indication of turnout — and they typically are — don’t expect to see long lines at the polls in South Mississippi.
“Absentee voting has been really slow in this office,” Necasise said.
It’s the same across the Coast.
“I’m not sure why,” said Jackson County Circuit Clerk Randy Carney. By the end of February, only about 50 people had requested absentee ballots in Jackson County, he said. He expects the number of absentee ballot requests to be higher for the general election in November.
The deadline to vote in person by absentee ballot is noon Saturday, said Connie Ladner, circuit clerk for Harrison County. Circuit clerks offices will be open from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday for absentee voting.
All mailed ballots must be in the office by Monday at 5 p.m.
On the Democrat ballot
Five of the 10 candidates have dropped out of the race for president since the Mississippi ballots were printed — Pete Buttiegieg, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick and Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pulled out of the race Wednesday morning and endorsed Joe Biden, leaving four candidates. Bloomberg said in a statement, “After yesterday’s (Super Tuesday) results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible — and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists.”
On Thursday, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race.
Biden’s campaign announced he will visit Mississippi this weekend. The church secretary of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson said the former vice president will attend their 9:30 a.m. Sunday service, according to WLBT in Jackson.
Bernie Sanders announced on his website he would be at Two Mississippi Museums in downtown Jackson on Friday. But the Clarion Ledger reported Thursday he had changed course to go to Michigan instead.
Still in the presidential race are:
▪ Joe Biden, former vice president
▪ Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii representative
▪ Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator
U.S. Senate:
▪ Tobey Bartee, Coast native and Navy veteran who worked with departments of State and Homeland Security. He ran against Espy in 2018.
▪ Jensen Bohren, who describes himself as a Southern progressive candidate
▪ Mike Espy, attorney and former congressman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary who ran against Hyde-Smith in 2018
No Democratic candidates are running for representative in the 4th Congressional District.
On the Republican ballot
Three races are on the ballot in the Republican primary:
President
▪ President Donald Trump and two challengers — Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente and Bill Weld
U.S. Senate
▪ Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, with no Republican challengers
4th Congressional District
▪ Incumbent Steven Palazzo
▪ Robert Deming III, Biloxi attorney and city councilman
▪ Carl Boyanton, a businessman from Diamondhead
▪ Samuel Hickman, a Picayune native who worked for Rep. Trent Kelly
Election details
The referendum for legalizing medical marijuana in the state won’t be on the ballot until November.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
None of the polling places in the three Coast counties have changed since November.
A runoff election will be scheduled for March 31, said Ladner, if one candidate in the Democratic Senate race or Republican primary for Congress doesn’t get more than 50% of the vote.
This is the first election overseen by new Secretary of State Michael Watson of Pascagoula, who is meeting with election officials across the state and was in Hancock and Stone counties Monday.
“The election commission and my office staff met with him,” said Necaise. She said they talked about the election and what changes they’d like to see in the election process.
Voters are reminded they need to bring their photo ID to the polls. The Secretary of State’s website also lets people check to see if they are registered to vote.
The ballots are the same for all three Coast counties. Here is an example of the ballots in Hancock County:
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
