Stealth candidate stuns with win over MS Supreme Court incumbent. Here’s how he did it
Just call David P. Sullivan a stealth candidate for the Mississippi Supreme Court.
He won’t be offended. The Gulfport attorney who lives in Biloxi wrested a South Mississippi Supreme Court seat from Justice Dawn Beam of Sumrall, who has served on the bench of the state’s highest court since 2016.
“I came out of nowhere,” Sullivan said Wednesday. “I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished.”
With 99% of precincts reporting, Sullivan had 189,357 or 54.8%, to Beam’s 156,205, or 45.2%
Sullivan believes several things worked in his favor in the race for the District 2, Position 2 seat:
- He was a “solid” Coast candidate with civil and criminal law experience, much of it in the courtroom.
- His father, the late Michael D. Sullivan, also served on the Supreme Court.
- Sullivan grew up in Hattiesburg and has connections across the South Mississippi district he’ll serve.
Judicial races meant to be nonpartisan
One facet of the campaign disturbed him. In campaign ads, he said, Beam promoted her endorsement from the Mississippi Republican Party even though the judicial race is supposed to be nonpartisan.
“I think that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way,” Sullivan said. “Judicial races are nonpartisan for a reason. A judge’s impartiality could be called into question.”
He said nonpartisan races “protect the dignity of the court and judicial system.”
Beam told the Sun Herald that she followed the advice of her campaign workers. “It’s difficult as a judge because you can’t talk about how you ruled on a case,” she said Wednesday, “but I have a long history as a constitutional conservative.”
“All they (the state Republican Party) were saying was that I did a good job and followed the law and I think that’s important for voters to know. It shouldn’t be a popularity contest . . . I did not seek that endorsement. They endorsed me.”
Beam, a former chancery judge and county prosecuting attorney, conceded defeat late Tuesday night in a Facebook post, writing, in part, “I believe in democracy. Moreover, I know that God’s plans are perfect. It has been my joy to serve our State for 9 years on the Supreme Court but the people have spoken . . . “
Sullivan has practiced law for 30 years in South Mississippi. He has served since 2019 as municipal judge for the city of D’Iberville. He previously served as a city prosecutor for Gulfport and is a public defender for Harrison, Stone and Hancock County circuit courts.
He also worked for 16 years at major law firms, often handling insurance defense, workman’s comp cases and commercial trial litigation. He now has a solo practice in criminal defense at the Sullivan Law Firm. His broad legal experience, he said, has prepared him to serve on the Supreme Court.
The nine justices on the court each serve eight-year, staggered terms from three districts.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM.
