JACKSON: The governor of Mississippi’s investment capital, who’s under indictment on federal corruption and conspiracy claims, is fighting to keep his job.
In a game Jackson citizens have seen before, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, seeking a second term, faces position Sen. John Horhn in a Democratic primary discharge on Tuesday.
” People are ready for anything diverse,” Horhn said. ” They are ready for change; they’re available for authority; they’re set for better roads; they’re available for less violence; they’re available for more options. “
Lumumba defeated Horhn in the 2017 Democratic primary openly, earning 55 % of the vote. This time around, Lumumba’s vote share dropped to 17 % in an April 1 primary. Horhn secured 48 %, short of a majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Horhn benefited from the confirmation of Mississippi U. S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, noted Eric R. Schmidt, an associate professor of government and politics at Millsaps College.
” What’s unique is that he came very close to winning the Democratic party nomination openly; and what’s unique as well is the sky that the legal prosecution against the current president has cast over the competition,” Schmidt said.
Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owns and Jackson City Council part Aaron B. Lenders were indicted in November. The indictment alleges the three Democrats accepted bills, including$ 50,000 for the president’s election campaign, from two people they thought were real estate developers looking to build a lodge near the city convention center. It turns out they worked for the FBI.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
” Occupants have been, you know, told a tale that may- that may provide them every cause for us not to be around, right? And we’re trying to make it obvious that that’s not who we are,” said Lumumba.
Schmidt said the winner of Tuesday’s drainage will almost certainly be the next mayor of Jackson, given the town’s statistical beauty. More than 80 % of people are Black, the highest percentage of any major U. S. city, and about 25 % live in poverty.
The standard election is set for June 3.
