After the dust settled and votes were tabulated in the Senatobia primary election – one race remains too close to call, another is headed to a runoff and two candidates claimed victory.
Unofficial results from Tuesday, April 1 show a very tight Democratic race for the Ward 3 alderman spot between incumbent Allen “Vashon” Tanksley and Michael Cathey. Tanksley grabbed 132 votes to Cathey’s 131, but two mail-in ballots have not yet been received by election officials. Those two ballots must be received by Wednesday, April 9 (five business days), postmarked on or before April 1 and meet lawful requirements to be included in the final tally.
In the mayor’s race, incumbent Greg Graves took a step toward securing his third term in office by knocking off Republican challenger Penny Payne-Byrd 554-390. Graves advances to the general election in June when he will face Democrat Elliott Bobo.
Chris McConnell won the Ward 4 alderman Republican primary earning 176 votes. Harry “Mitch” Bryant Jr. was second with 116 votes, followed by Jimmie Lee Neal with 52. McConnell and Democrat Carl Davis will battle it out in the general election.
Two Republican candidates racked up over 100 votes in the Ward 2 primary, but neither was able to claim victory after failing to earn 50 percent overall plus one vote. Incumbent Kevin Dear grabbed 121 votes, while Richard Storey had 112 to set up a runoff Tuesday, April 22. A third candidate, Don Williams, collected 47 votes.
The Senatobia general election ballot Tuesday, June 3, will include the following races:
*incumbent
Mayor
Elliott Bobo (D)
Greg Graves (R)*
Ward 2 Alderman
Kevin Dear (R)*
or Richard Storey (R)
Ward 3 Alderman
Michael Cathey (D)
or Allen “Vashon” Tanksley (D)*
Ward 4 Alderman
Carl Davis (D)
Chris McConnell (R)
Alderman at large
Michael Cathey Jr. (D)
Demetrius Garrett (I)*
Stephanie Huddleston (R)
