STARKVILLE — While eight Democratic election candidates in Oktibbeha County had to campaign for two primary cycles, their Republican counterparts breathed easy knowing they”d clinched a spot in November.
Three of the four runoff primaries included unopposed Republican nominees, including two — tax assessor candidate Allen Morgan and circuit clerk candidate Glenn Hamilton — who are running for public office in the county for the second time.
Do they have an advantage with a free pass to the general election?
Hamilton ran for chancery clerk eight years ago and lost in the primary. Prior to that, he was a two-term state senator and was appointed vice chairman of the municipalities committee and judicial subcommittee.
He”s in the thick of his fourth election and was unopposed in his second term as senator. Still, he admits not being on the primary ballot this time around lessens the buzz surrounding his campaign.
“It seemed like a lot of the races in general were kind of quiet, too,” Hamilton said. “And certainly, your race doesn”t generate the same interest as if you had opposition. I”m grateful to get by without opposition, but it hasn”t changed the way I”ve run my campaign. Oktibbeha is a big county and it”s almost impossible to get around and see everybody in just three months. I”ve been working hard since February.”
Hamilton will face Teresa Davis-Roberson, who won the Democratic runoff by 524 votes. Davis-Roberson outlasted three opponents in the primary and finished with the most votes in each election.
Morgan will face a candidate for tax assessor with similar momentum in Velisia Wynn, who rebounded from finishing more than 400 votes out of first in the primary to winning the runoff by 212 votes.
Morgan, who has 29 years of experience with the Mississippi State Tax Commission, ran for the same office in 2007 against incumbent Pat Kight.
Morgan said he dedicates six days a week to his campaign, which won”t change despite knowing exactly who he”s running against (Wynn).
“I”d like to be running against somebody and going full steam in the primary,” Morgan said, “I don”t know if there”s an advantage to being unopposed as far as winning and losing, but it does give you more time for your campaign. And you aren”t under as much pressure being unopposed. For me, though, there”s no difference in how I go about campaigning.”
Oktibbeha County had three other races that had one unopposed candidate and at least two others vying for the other party nomination.
Steve Gladney, who upset 36-year sheriff Dolph Bryan in the runoff for the Democratic nomination, will face current Golden Triangle Development and Planning District Executive Director Rudy Johnson, who was unopposed in the primary.
In the race for District 2 supervisor, Bubba Gray was unopposed in the primary and will face incumbent Orlando Trainer.
Incumbent District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard, a Democrat, was unopposed in the primary and will face Dennis Daniels.
McGinnis pleased with runoff operations
With an observer from the Mississippi Secretary of State in town for the primary runoff Tuesday, circuit clerk Angie McGinnis was anxious to have a flawless election day.
Though she doesn”t expect a written report until next week, she said she got a positive feeling the voter and poll worker education she conducted following complaints of voter influence on Aug. 2 paid off.
McGinnis said the observer visited precincts in West and South Starkville, Gillespie Street and Central Starkville. The observer was also at the circuit court complex, site of the election headquarters.
“The only comments he made to me were that he could tell that voters that needed assistance were very careful to follow procedure so he knew that they had not been using procedure exactly to law before,” McGinnis said. “That”s why I feel like our efforts at education made a difference. I still did get some reports on campaign signs being too close to voting locations and we had a little confusion over poll watchers wanting poll workers to repeat names of voters out loud. But after discussing procedure with my poll worker and clearing up the matter with a community campaign worker the matter was settled.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.