A veteran campaigner faces an upstart in the Nov. 27 runoff election between Greenwood attorneys Willie Perkins Sr. and Katie Mills for a chancery court judge’s seat.
With the machine and absentee votes counted, the totals for Tuesday’s vote show 17,014 ballots cast, with Perkins taking 47 percent, Mills 28 percent and Tunica attorney Richard Ryals 24 percent.
Law requires the judgeship be awarded to the candidate who wins at least 50 percent plus one of the votes, something no candidate was able to do Tuesday.
Perkins, an attorney for more than 40 years and a state legislator since 1993, said Wednesday that he was surprised that the results “weren’t more of a runaway for me” for the District 7, Subdistrict 2, Place 2 post. Perkins, who took 61 percent of the vote in his home county, said he thought he would do better in the district’s other three counties — Tallahatchie, Quitman and Tunica, where he either tied or lost to Ryals.
Perkins said he’d face the runoff with the same strategies he used for Tuesday’s vote: “Knock on doors, ask for votes, call.” He said he didn’t want to tip his hand by being specific on his campaign plans.
Because of the disparity, Mills would need almost all of Ryals’ votes to beat Perkins.
“I look forward to getting out in the next three weeks and meeting as many of (Ryals’) supporters as I can,” Mills said. The two lawyers share similar opinions on the operation of the judiciary and giving people access to the courts, she said, and she hopes her ideas will appeal to Ryals’ voters.
Ryals, a Tunica lawyer and sitting justice court judge, said he won’t be endorsing a candidate in the runoff because ethics canons prohibit it.
“We had a great turnout across the district,” Ryals said. “I wish the outcome was different, but it is what it is.”
The outcome of the election wasn’t decided until early Wednesday morning as Perkins’ vote total hovered around the 50 percent mark for most of the evening.
Several Greenwood precincts were the last to be entered into the county’s tally system and gave Mills a strong second-place finish in Leflore County. That was enough to put her on the runoff ballot, despite finishing last in the other three counties.
Election officials didn’t wrap up counting absentee ballots in Leflore County until nearly 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill. Nearly 550 affidavit ballots for the county were still being counted Wednesday evening but were unlikely to change the outcome.
Runoff elections often draw a much smaller number of voters than the general election. Candidates usually have to remind supporters to go to the polls on the runoff date as well as to vote for them.
On Nov. 27, the chancery court judge candidates should benefit by being on the same ballot as the runoff for U.S. Senate between Democrat Mike Espy and Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Thad Cochran.
• Contact Gavin Maliska at 581-7235 or gmaliska@gwcommonwealth.com.
{{tncms-inline content="<p><em>District 7, Subdistrict 2, Place 2</em></p> <p><strong>Overall</strong></p> <p>Willie Perkins Sr. 47 percent</p> <p>Katie Mills 28 percent</p> <p>Richard Ryals 24 percent</p> <p><strong>Leflore County</strong></p> <p>Perkins 61 percent</p> <p>Mills 36 percent</p> <p>Ryals 3 percent</p> <p><strong>Tallahatchie County</strong></p> <p>Perkins 36 percent</p> <p>Ryals 36 percent</p> <p>Mills 28 percent</p> <p><strong>Quitman County</strong></p> <p>Ryals 42 percent</p> <p>Perkins 37 percent</p> <p>Mills 21 percent</p> <p><strong>Tunica County</strong></p> <p>Ryals 63 percent</p> <p>Perkins 28 percent</p> <p>Mills 9 percent</p>" id="90ee595c-e66a-4d8f-9f6d-309c0a383b22" style-type="fact" title="CHANCERY COURT ELECTION RESULTS " type="relcontent"}}
District 7, Subdistrict 2, Place 2
Overall
Willie Perkins Sr. 47 percent
Katie Mills 28 percent
Richard Ryals 24 percent
Leflore County
Perkins 61 percent
Mills 36 percent
Ryals 3 percent
Tallahatchie County
Perkins 36 percent
Ryals 36 percent
Mills 28 percent
Quitman County
Ryals 42 percent
Perkins 37 percent
Mills 21 percent
Tunica County
Ryals 63 percent
Perkins 28 percent
Mills 9 percent
