Gov. Reeves sets special elections after deaths of two House members

By Geoff Pender | Originally published by Mississippi Today

Gov. Tate Reeves has set special elections for Nov. 3 to fill two vacancies in the Mississippi House after the recent deaths of Reps. William “Bo” Brown and Price Wallace.

Brown, a Democrat from Jackson, died at 81 on June 8 after a lengthy illness. He had served House District 70 in Hinds County since 2020 and had a long career in public service including working for more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a program manager for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Wallace, a Republican from Mendenhall, died unexpectedly at 64 on June 3. He had served House District 77 in Rankin and Simpson counties since winning a special election in 2018. Wallace, a poultry farmer, served as House Constitution Committee chairman and had been leading a push to restore the state ballot initiative right to voters.

The special elections will coincide with the federal midterm elections on Nov. 3. In his statement announcing the special state House elections, Reeves said the deadline for candidates to qualify is Aug. 20, and that if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the special elections, runoffs will be held on Dec. 1.

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article