JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi Sen. John Horhn joined a growing list of candidates who have already announced plans to run against incumbent Democratic Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba as he announced his campaign on Oct. 3.
“Jackson is headed in the wrong direction,” Horhn, a Jackson Democrat who has served in the state’s upper chamber since 1993, said during a speech at the Jackson Medical Mall. A crowd of supporters, including his wife Lydia Gail-Horhn and daughter Charla Horhn, joined him onstage.
This is Horhn’s third attempt at running for mayor of Jackson. He first ran for the seat in 2014, losing to Tony Yarber. Horhn ran again in 2017, losing the Democratic primary to Lumumba, who went on to unseat then-incumbent Mayor Tony Yarber and win the general election in a landslide that year.
Lumumba’s current term ends in July 2025; he has declared he will run for re-election.
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In March 2024, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressing criticisms about how JXN Water and Interim Third Party Manager Ted Henifin were handling the effort to repair the Mississippi capital’s water system. Lumumba spoke candidly about his rift with Henifin in an interview with the Mississippi Free Press. Photo by Nick Judin ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”Mayor Lumumba sitting in his office, wearing a grey suit and speaking” class=”wp-image-46473″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chokwe-Lumumba4-06052024_cred-Nick-Judin-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>Incumbent Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba says he intends to run for reelection in 2025. Photo by Nick Judin
Last Thursday, Horhn said that his experience as a state lawmaker, navigating relationships with other legislators to secure funding and support for his district, makes him a perfect candidate to lead Jackson.
“Often, when money goes to the City (of Jackson), it disappears into a black hole,” he said while speaking to members of
