The candidates hoping to replace the vacant District 17 Mississippi Senate are set after the deadline to qualify passed Monday.
The four names on the Nov. 4 special election ballot will be Bill “Doc” Canon, Bill Gavin, Bobby Patrick and Chuck Younger. They are vying to fill the one year remaining on the late Terry Brown’s term. Brown died Sept. 4 after a battle with cancer.
If the top vote-getter doesn’t get a 50-percent-plus-one majority vote, the two candidates with the most votes will go to a runoff, which would be held Nov. 25.
District 17 currently comprises all of Lowndes County but will be redrawn to include eastern Lowndes County and portions of Monroe County due to redistricting. The regular senate election next year will be based on the redrawn boundaries, which exclude the city of Columbus.
Canon was Brown’s predecessor to the Senate and is a long-time Lowndes County veterinarian. Gavin recently retired as an instructor at East Mississippi Community College. Patrick retired in 2011 after nearly 40 years as an insurance agent. Younger has farmed and ranched in Lowndes and Monroe counties for over 30 years.
Candidates will not have official party affiliations in this election.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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