Four men, two of them Tallahatchians, will be competing for the seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives recently left vacant by the resignation of Robert E. Huddleston of Sumner.
With the passing of Monday’s qualifying deadline for a May 8 special election, the field in District 30 is now set.
Prospective candidates were required to file qualifying papers with the secretary of state’s office. Because this is a special election, candidates qualified without a party label, as independents.
Qualifying were:
• Blake Ferretti, 35, of 80 Ferri Road, Cleveland
• William McClellan, 62, of 232 UPS Road, Charleston
• Tracey Rosebud, 42, of 412 First St., Tutwiler
• Lester Williams, 62, of 300 Sylvia St., Ruleville
Kenneth M. Jones, 46, of 49 Bruister Road, Tutwiler, had also qualified for the race, but he withdrew this week after learning that he did not meet residency requirements for length of time having lived within the district, according to Mississippi Assistant Secretary of State of Communications, Leah Rupp Smith.
"He was told on Tuesday (March 20) in the late afternoon that his qualifying information did not indicate he had lived in the district for at least two years preceding the upcoming date of the election (May 8)," Smith added. "He withdrew Tuesday evening."
The State Board of Election Commissioners on Thursday (March 22) approved the candidacies of Ferretti, McClellan, Rosebud and Williams for the House District 30 race. Statutory members of the state board include Gov. Phil Bryant, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Attorney General Jim Hood.
If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast in the May 8 special election, a runoff between the top two vote-getters will be held May 29.
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Rosebud and Williams also were candidates for the District 30 seat in the most recent regular state elections in 2015, when they both ran as Democrats against then incumbent Huddleston.
After the primary smoke had cleared in August 2015, Huddleston led the field of four with 34 percent of the vote, but Williams forced a runoff by garnering 26 percent districtwide, which includes precincts in Bolivar, Quitman, Sunflower and Tallahatchie counties.
Rosebud and Zack Huffman brought up the rear with 20 percent of the vote each, but Rosebud collected more votes than Huffman to finish third.
Districtwide in that primary, Huddleston garnered 1,595 votes, Williams tallied 1,227, Rosebud garnered 945 and Huffman had 927.
In the runoff a few weeks later, Huddleston defeated Williams 2,155 to 1,980, taking 52 percent of the votes to his opponent’s 48 percent.
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Huddleston, a Democrat, served 22 years and two months in the state House. He announced his retirement from public office, effective Feb. 28, in a letter of resignation delivered to House Speaker Philip Gunn.
At the time of his leaving, Huddleston served as a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Apportionment and Elections; Appropriations; Corrections; County Affairs; and Workforce Development.
Huddleston, 63, was first elected to his post in a 1995 runoff win over incumbent Charles E. Waldrup of Drew.
The person elected in May will serve out the remainder of Huddleston’s term, which runs through the end of 2019.
Editor's note: This story was revised from its original form to include information about Kenneth Jones' withdrawal and the State Board of Election Commissioners' qualifying of the candidates.
