Key legislative races on tap Tuesday
Former state Sen. Barbara Blackmon is trying to reclaim the seat she gave up in 2003 to run — unsuccessfully — for lieutenant governor.
She will have to defeat incumbent Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones, D-Canton, to reclaim the District 21 seat in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Jones has served as a state senator since 2008.
The race is one of several contested legislative races throughout the metro area in Tuesday’s Democratic and Republican primaries. Some of the races will be decided Tuesday because the race attracted candidates from only one party.
Blackmon, an attorney, served in the Senate for 12 years. In 2003, she ran unsuccessfully against Republican then-Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck. Blackmon is married to state Rep. Ed Blackmon.
Jones, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, is in his eighth year in the Legislature and is chairman of the Interstate and Federal Cooperation Committee.
Senate District 21 serves Attala, Holmes, Leake, Madison and Yazoo counties.
“We decided to run again because the people of Senate District 21 felt, for one, they did not have sufficient representation,” Blackmon said. “We decided to run because we were asked by people from Attala, Leake, Madison, Holmes and Yazoo counties to go back to Jackson and make a difference in Senate District 21.”
Blackmon said grassroots citizens know she won’t be swayed by special interests,
“I think I have been out front on a whole lot of issues and have taken care of the community,” Jones said. “I have represented the interest of the community as a whole. I think, for the most part, voters who appreciate what you do will be loyal. I have always spoken up for the little people who didn’t have a voice, and I would like to continue that.”
“And this time, I want to lead the effort to be on the right side of history by getting us a flag that all Mississippians can be proud of,“ Jones said.
Blackmon said if she’s elected, some of the things she will push for are expansion of Medicaid, adequate education funding, economic opportunities for small business owners and infrastructure improvements.
Jones has also supported fully funding education and Medicaid expansion.
House District 58
Joel Bomgar and Bruce Bartley are facing off in the Republican primary for the District 58 House seat. The seat is up for grabs after Rita Martinson, R-Madison, decided not to run for re-election after 23 years in office.
Bomgar, the CEO of Madison-based tech company Bomgar Corp., said he is running with the hope of creating “more jobs and economic opportunity” in Madison County, specifically in “high tech.”
Noting his company, Bomgar said, “I’ve got 12 years of front-line experience creating the exact jobs everybody wants right here. I have a family with four kids, and I understand wanting to have a safe neighborhood where my kids can ride their bikes on the street and not have to worry about them playing in the yard. Everything about Madison County is going right, and I would love to be a part of making that better anf bringing jobs and economic opportunity on top of it.”
A veteran of the Air National Guard, Bomgar said he has “a deep heart for public service” and views the legislative seat as a way he can be a “public servant” for the people of Madison County.
“I’ve always felt that anytime I had the opportunity to step up, I needed to do that,” Bomgar said. “If more good people stepped up at every opportunity, the shape and the face of politics would look different.”
Citing his “passion for Mississippi, enthusiasm and work ethic,” Bomgar said his ability for problem solving makes him the ideal candidate.
Bartley, 48, a self-described entrepreneur and businessman who used to operate grocery stores, said his “number one priority” as a representative would be “protecting our public schools.”
A supporter of Initiative 42 to adequately fund K-12 public education, Bartley said he wanted to ensure public schools “get what they need from the Legislature” and are “adequately funded.”
“Initiative 42 is the main thing, to make sure our schools are funded and the schools have the required revenue that they need to function properly.”
In addition to funding education, Bartley said he hoped to bring business to Madison County by offering tax incentives.
“Companies bring jobs, and jobs bring a bigger tax base to the state,” he said.
A former resident of Kentucky, Bartley has lived in Madison County for 15 years. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Kentucky in 1992 and 1994. Citing a family history of politicians that dates back to his great-grandfather, Bartley said politics is “a passion.”
Saying he “believes in being truthful and honest,” Bartley said, “I want people to understand that what I say is who I am.”
Senate District 25
Republican Bill Billingsley is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Will Longwitz for the District 25 seat.
Billingsley said he is running, in part, because he feels incumbents need to be challenged.
“It’s important that incumbents be challenged because that’s the only time in Mississippi we have to hold them accountable,” Billlingsley said. “Election day is it. This partial incumbent has taken some actions that I want to hold him accountable for.”
He added that, if elected, he would likely only run for two terms.
“I’m not going to be a career politician that’s not going to be subject to special interest groups,” he said. “I think two terms is plenty. The role of a citizen legislator is one that I take very seriously, and if down there more than two terms, then I’m not a citizen legislator anymore.”
As an Army veteran and owner of a home health and hospice business, Billingsley said, “I think it takes somebody with a business background to take a business approach to state government.”
Longwitz said serving Mississippi is what motivates him. “ I am a fifth-generation Mississippian. My wife grew up here too, and we love living here and raising our family here.”
“I take the responsibility of public service very seriously, and I work hard at it,” Longwitz said. “Now that I have served one term and gotten good things done, I believe I have more left to do. I have been endorsed by Mississippi Right to Life for my 100 percent pro-life voting record and have been endorsed by the NRA in this race for my commitment to the Second Amendment.”
“If the people of this district trust me to represent them again, I will continue the work I have done to lower taxes and to expand our health care economy. I will keep working to help small businesses by lowering their regulatory burden. I will keep fighting to protect our good public schools and get help to the failing ones,” Longwitz said.
Other legislative races
•Longtime state Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, faces a challenge from Stephen Thompson in the District 26 Democratic primary.
•State Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, faces a challenge from Eclecius Franklin and Kathryn Mitchell Orey in the Democratic primary in District 29. The winner faces Republican James Broadwater in the November general election.
•First-term incumbent Rep. Deborah Butler Dixon will face a challenge from Machelle Shelby Kyles in the District 63 race.
•In the District 65 seat, incumbent Rep. Mary Coleman, D-Jackson, isn’t seeking re-election. She is running for Central District transportation commissioner. However, Coleman’s daughter Arqullas Coleman is running to replace her mother in the Legislature. In addition to Arquallis Coleman, Christopher Bell and James Covington are running for the seat.
•In a hotly contested race, incumbent Rep. Brad Oberhousen in District 66 faces challenger Jarvis Dotch in the Democratic primary. There are no independents or Republicans in the race.
•In the District 68 race, longtime Rep. Credell Calhoun faces a challenge from Kenneth Shearrill in the Democratic primary.
•Longtime Rep. Alyce Clarke faces a challenge from Plavise “Patty” Paterson in the District 69 race.
•In the District 70 race, three Democrats and a Republican are vying to replace state Rep. Jim Evans, D-Jackson, who dropped out of the race after qualifying for re-election. The three Democrats, Sam Begley, Tammy Cotton and Kathy Sykes, will face off Tuesday. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Perry James in November.
•In the District 72 race, incumbent Rep. Kimberly Campbell faces a challenge from Corinthian Sanders in the Democratic primary.
•In the District 60 seat, incumbent Rep. John Moore faces a challenge from Paul Buisson in the Republican primary.
•In the District 62 race, incumbent Rep. Tom Weathersby faces a challenge from Wesley Wilson in the Republican primary.
Contact Jimmie E. Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Contact Sarah Fowler at (601) 961-7303 or sfowler@gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews and @FowlerSarah on Twitter.