Kamesha Mumford (left) and Justin Pope (right) (Photos from candidates’ Facebook pages)
- The two winners will fill the unexpired terms of David Jordan and John Horhn.
Voters returned to the polls Tuesday to fill vacated seats in two Mississippi state Senate districts.
The non-partisan contests in Senate District 24 and Senate District 26 featured fields with multiple candidates running for the vacated seats in the November 4 special election.
The top two in each race advanced to Tuesday’s special runoff election, with the winner filling the unexpired terms of retiring State Senator David Jordan (D) and now Jackson Mayor John Horhn (D).
Both winners are likely to caucus with Senate Democrats given their history and policy positions.
Here are the results in each race.
Senate District 24 – Portions of Tallahatchie, Panola and Leflore Counties
Justin Pope will replace David Jordan who retired at the end of this year’s session.
Pope, a Batesville-native, defeated Curressia Brown by an unofficial talley of 54% to 46% with all precincts reporting.
Brown led the six-person field in the initial election, pulling in 25% of the vote with Pope second at 20%.
Brown is a retired educator from Mississippi Valley State who is Leflore County delegate to the Mississippi Democratic Party 2nd Congressional District and State Conventions.
Senator-elect Pope has worked in a variety of healthcare positions and is currently employed with Progressive Health Group.
He ran unsuccessfully for Panola County Chancery Clerk as a Democrat in 2023, losing to Independent Katie Ragon.
Pope has said he wants to bring “accountability, responsibility, and transparency” to the office and has advocated for better education and healthcare outcomes. He also wants to “find a way to keep our kids” in District 24 through economic and workforce development.
Senate District 26 – Portions of Madison and Hinds County
Kamesha Mumford will succeed John Horhn who resigned to become Mayor of Jackson.
Mumford defeated Letitia Johnson, an attorney and a former member and president of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees who was endorsed by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D).
Mumford won by an unofficial talley of 56% to Johnson’s 46% with 96% of precincts reporting.
Mumford also drew the most votes in the initial election, winning 38% in the seven-person race. Johnson pulled in 27%.
Mumford has served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Canton since 2013. She is the President of the Mississippi Municipal Judges Association and founding partner of Mumford & Mumford Law Firm and co-founder of Mumford Title, LLC.
Mumford has said that Mississippi’s aging infrastructure is the state’s biggest opportunity for economic growth as improvements pave the way for new development. She also has voiced support for ensuring the stability of PERS, investing more in education, and supporting rural fire departments.
Mumford’s husband is Hinds County Prosecuting Attorney Gerald Mumford. She was endorsed by former Congressman Mike Espy (D).
