Mississippi Sen. John Horhn holds a commanding lead over incumbent Chokwe A. Lumumba in the Democratic primary for Jackson mayor with the vast majority of votes counted from Tuesday’s election.
“Jackson is really ready for change. They’re ready for something different,” Horhn told reporters as the votes were still being counted Tuesday evening.
With 23,861 votes counted as of 9:30 p.m., the Clarion Ledger’s tally shows that Horhn leads with 49% of the vote, compared to Lumumba with 12% of the vote; the remainder is split among 10 other candidates.
Unless Hohrn surpasses 50% of the vote, he and Lumumba will face one another in a runoff election on April 22. It is not clear how many votes remain to be counted, if any.
Lumumba has led the capital city since his first election in 2017 but faced significant headwinds this year after being indicted on federal bribery charges.
In his second term, the embattled incumbent had a fraught relationship with the Republican Legislature and state leaders as he stood fervently against the State of Mississippi’s attempts to usurp control of Jackson’s assets from the city control to the State.
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Horhn, a longtime Democratic senator, has closer working relationships with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle but has also been outspoken against legislative attempts to wrest control from the City of Jackson.
In the Jackson Republican primary, Kenny Gee will go to a runoff against Wilfred Beal on April 22.
The municipal general elections for Jackson and other cities and towns across Mississippi is June 3, 2025.
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