Hyde-Smith, Little win positions in Nov. 27 election

Almost 50 percent of registered voters in Marshall County participated in the November 27 runoff election.

“For a runoff, that included only two races, it was a good turnout,” said circuit clerk Lucy Carpenter.

Almost 11,000 marked ballots in the county. There are more than 22,750 registered voters.

In the U.S. Senate race, Mike Espy received 59 percent of the vote in Marshall County to 41 percent for Cindy Hyde-Smith (6,334 to 4,462).

Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to the position earlier this year by Gov. Phil Bryant, was elected statewide by receiving 55 percent of the vote. She will serve the final two years of a term started by Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired in April.

Hyde-Smith, 59, is the first woman elected to Congress from Mississippi.

The Associated Press called Hyde-Smith the winner at 9:13 on election night, as she reached 56 percent of the vote with 69 percent of the precincts reporting statewide.

In the race for chancery court judge, District 18, Place 1 Sarah Liddy received 60 percent of the vote in her home county of Marshall to 40 percent for Larry Little (5,898 to 4,007).

The district covers five counties – Marshall, Benton, Calhoun, Lafayette and Tippah.

Little was elected to the position largely due to his success in his home county of Lafayette. There he received 66 percent of the vote to Liddy’s 34 percent, according to The Oxford Eagle newspaper.

Over the five-county area, Little received 53 percent of the vote to Liddy’s 47, according to The Eagle.

Little will fill the seat being vacated by Judge Glenn Alderson, who is retiring effective December 31.

There were 561 absentee ballots in Marshall County.

The first precincts reporting to the county courthouse on election night were Hudsonville, North Holly Springs, Bethlehem, North Cayce and Early Grove.

There are 24 precincts in Marshall County.

The next election on tap, coming up in 2019, will be county and state races. Qualifying will begin in early January.