State Rep. Hester Jackson-McCray (D-Horn Lake) has announced her candidacy for reelection to her seat in the state Legislature for House District 40, which includes portions of Horn Lake and Southaven.
McCray qualified to be on the 2023 election ballot but has no August primary opposition. She does face a Republican challenge from either former Horn Lake alderman Charlie Roberts of Jacob Hisaw.
McCray was elected to the House in 2019, defeating the late former state Rep. Ashley Henley in a close vote that Henley challenged all the way to the House floor in Jackson.
Since her election, McCray touted her support of a teacher pay raise for Mississippi teachers. The trailblazing state legislator, who was the first African-American state representative from DeSoto County, sponsored a ballot initiative bill in 2021.
In the legislature, McCray has served on the. Public Utilities, Drug Policy, Energy, Gaming, Conservation and Water Resources committees.
She has also been involved in supporting the Horn Lake Police Department’s annual need for new vehicles, and the Horn Lake Fire Department’s ability to obtain a new ambulance and fire engine. McCray helped pass the Horn Lake hotel/motel occupancy tax to raise funds for economic development, aided in the efforts to get funding to expand I-55, helped negotiate a resolution to the ongoing DeSoto County-Memphis wastewater management crisis, and pushed for approval for the Town of Walls new Volunteer Firefighter Training Center.
“I’m running for re-election because I know my community shares and values my perspective when I sit at the table where decisions are made in Jackson,” McCray said.
