Judicial runoff elections two days before Thanksgiving in Central, South Mississippi

• Jenifer Branning is seeking to unseat Jim Kitchens on the state Supreme Court, while Amy St. Pe and Jennifer Schloegel battle it out for an open Court of Appeals seat.

Voters in Mississippi will return to the polls two days before Thanksgiving to decide two judicial races in Runoff Elections.

Next Tuesday, November 26, the State Supreme Court District 1, Position 3 seat in Central Mississippi and the Court of Appeals District 5, Position 2 seat in South Mississippi are on the ballot. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters have until Saturday, November 23 at noon to cast their absentee ballots at their local Circuit Clerk’s office. Mail-in absentee ballots must be post-marked by Election Day to be counted.

Supreme Court Runoff

State Senator Jenifer Branning is seeking to unseat incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens who has served on the high court for District 1, Position 3 since 2008.

Branning has represented State Senate District 18 since 2016 as a Republican. She led the five-candidate field in the November 6 General Election, winning 41.8 percent of the vote in the non-partisan race.

“There’s a clear choice in this Runoff because I’m the only candidate who will bring new energy and Constitutional conservative leadership to the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Branning wrote on Facebook a day after the General Election. “I’m the only candidate with legal and legislative experience, and I’m the only candidate endorsed by the Mississippi Republican Party. No matter who you voted for the first time, I’m asking for your vote in the Runoff.”

Justice Kitchens drew 35.6 percent of the vote, or just under 20,000 votes less than Branning. He is a former three-term District Attorney and has been endorsed by high profile state Democrats in each of his judicial campaigns.

Kitchens has said Mississippi deserves a Justice “who knows the courtroom from experience rather than just theory,” adding that he has spent decades inside the courtroom.

“During the next three weeks I’ll be working harder than ever to inform the voters why Jim Kitchens is ready, willing, and able to serve them better than any other candidate,” he posted on Facebook after the General Election.

Combined, the two campaigns have raised nearly $1 million this cycle, with Branning pulling in nearly two-thirds of those donations.

Over 22 percent of the vote or 71,000 votes up are for grabs from the other three candidates who ran this cycle. The central Mississippi district has traditionally leaned left, giving Kitchens’ campaign hope. However, as with any runoff election, and most especially often low interest judicial races, turnout will be the determining factor come Tuesday.

Court of Appeals Runoff

After three days of counting, it was officially determined that Amy St. Pe and Jennifer Schloegel would move on to the runoff election in the District 5, Position 2 Court of Appeals race, while Ian Baker, the third candidate, would not.

St. Pe, a city attorney and municipal judge in Jackson County with 22 years of legal experience, lead the field, winning six of the eleven counties in the district and pulling in 35.2 percent, or just under 85,000 votes in the November 6 General Election.

St. Pe has actively campaigned at local Republican events and is backed by prominent Coast and Pine Belt Republicans for the non-partisan judicial seat. In a Facebook post over the weekend, she drew a line of distinction between her and Schloegel.

“Court of Appeals Judges serve 8-year terms and that’s a long time—so it’s vital we elect a proven, Constitutional conservative in this race. That’s why I’m running and it’s a key difference in this election,” St. Pe said.

Schloegel, in her fourth term as a Chancery Court Judge for Harrison, Hancock, and Stone Counties, came in over 5,000 votes below St. Pe, drawing 33.1 percent of the vote. She carried just two counties – Harrison and Hancock.

The Coast judge, too, took to social media last week to make her case against St. Pe.

“Admitted to the practice of law in 1991, I have 33 years experience with 14 of those as a full-time trial judge. I have been elected 4 times as Chancery Judge and upheld on appeal 32 of 33 times… a proven record of making sound legal decisions,” Schloegel wrote on Facebook. “My opponent was appointed 3 years ago as a part-time municipal judge and practices law. She has never been elected to any public office.”

According to pre-election campaign finance filings, St. Pe’s campaign raised $197,000 to Schloegel’s $174,000 this cycle.

The key to this race for both women is winning over Baker’s voters, which totaled just over 76,000, while also getting their supporters back to the polls during a holiday week for a judicial race, which traditionally has not drawn high voter interest.

The winner will replace Joel Smith on the 10-judge appellate court. Smith was appointed to the bench in 2021 by Governor Tate Reeves but did not seek the seat this election cycle.