Fewer primaries, more Republican races in 2023 elections

According to the political information website Ballotpedia, 2023 is seeing a new low for the number of contested primaries for seats in the Mississippi House of Representatives. 

At the same time, the number of contested Republican primaries is at its highest level in a decade. 

There are 44 contested state legislative primaries coming up on Aug. 8 in the Mississippi House. The number of races with more than one Republican candidate in the primary is at 30, up from 24 or 25 in previous years.

You can learn more about the Mississippi House elections and the battleground elections Ballotpedia identified here:  Mississippi House of Representatives elections: 2023

Contested primaries in districts that cover DeSoto County include the following:

House District 6: Justin Keen, James “Jimmy” Wallace

House District 7: James “Jamey” Goodkind, Kimberly Remak, Pregeorian Walker

House District 20: Randy Hall, Charlie Hoots 

House District 28: W.I. “Doc” Harris, John T. Williams

House District 40: Jacob Hisaw, Charlie Roberts

There are no contested primaries among Democrats running for the House of Representatives in the county. 

Meanwhile, there is just one Republican primary for a seat representing DeSoto County in the Senate. That is where incumbent State Sen. Kevin Blackwell is being challenged by Walter Hopper.  

This item first appeared in Ballotpedia News.