Close South MS Appeals Court race finally called; runoff set between top two candidates
In a close race for a South Mississippi seat of the Court of Appeals, attorney Amy Lassiter St. Pé and Chancery Judge Jennifer Schloegel are headed for a runoff on Nov. 26.
St. Pé established and held a lead in the race on election night, Nov. 5, but Schloegel and attorney Ian Baker battled it out for second place.
Both St. Pé and Schloegel said Baker conceded the race Friday afternoon, with 99% of unofficial election returns reported.
By Tuesday morning, The Associated Press had called the race, lowering to 97% the unofficial returns reported. The results show St. Pé with 84,769 votes, or 35.2%, to 79,612 votes, or 33.1% for Schloegel. Baker trailed with 76,382 votes, or 31.7%.
St. Pé and Schloegel are vying for the District 5, Position 2 seat on the court, which is assigned appellate cases by the Supreme Court where the law is settled but facts are in dispute. The Court of Appeals has 10 judges who serve staggered, 8-year terms.
The sitting judge, former District Attorney Joel Smith, did not seek re-election.
Baker worked for Smith in the district attorney’s office for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties.
What runoff candidates say
St Pé, who is from Pascagoula, carried six of the 11 counties in the district: Jackson, George, Greene, Wayne, Perry, Forrest. Schloegel prevailed in Harrison, the most populous county, and Hancock. Baker won Pearl River, Stone and Lamar counties.
St. Pé graduated from Mississippi College law school and has practiced law for 22 years. She founded her own law firm in Pascagoula, specializing in governmental law. She has served for 15 years as a city attorney for Moss Point and is also a municipal judge for the city of Gautier.
Schloegel, who is from Gulfport, has served since 2011 as a Chancery Court judge for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties. She graduated from University of Mississippi law school and also attended Emory University law school in Atlanta.
Schloegel said her time as a chancery judge gives her the experience needed to sit on the appeals court. She pointed out that chancery judges hear appeals from county and justice courts, and said that the state Court of Appeals has upheld her rulings in 32 of 33 cases.
“My message the whole time is that I am the only candidate who is a full-time trial judge and that is a very different place to be in from simply being a lawyer,” Schloegel said.
St. Pé has stressed her wide range of legal experience, saying she’s shown the “temperament and skills” to be fair, and follow and uphold the law. She said that she’s campaigned hard for 11 months.
“I will not give up these next three weeks,” St. Pé said. “I can promise you that.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
