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Oberhousen Leads in Hinds House Race

Brad Oberhousen, a Democrat who is running against Republican incumbent Jim Ellington for the House District 73 race, is currently leading with 53 votes. His win could signal a much needed gain for Democrats who are fighting to hold their own in the House.

Ballot Initiatives Draw Reaction

While the proposed Personhood amendment garnered most of the attention locally as well as from national media, voters approved two other controversial statewide ballot measures on Tuesday.

Rep. Brandon Jones Not Conceding

Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, posted a message on Facebook today saying he is still reviewing election totals against his opponent for the Mississippi House of Representatives, Charles Busby.

Mississippi House Remains In Limbo

Republicans are salivating over the prospect of taking over the Mississippi House of Representatives even as votes from Election Day continued to be counted throughout the state today. But Democrats are holding out hope that they may retain control of the House.

Redistricting Redux

Mississippi's ongoing battle over redistricting will keep going on at least into the near future.

[Kamikaze] Let's Talk, Dems

Hey, Mississippi Democratic Party: Can we talk? We've heard some pretty strong accusations that you aren't as powerful as you used to be. In fact, a few folks are whispering that you've become a shell of your former self.

Jim Hood Eases into Third Term

By 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, supporters at Jim Hood's re-election party were only mildly paying attention to the four television monitors showing election returns in the King Edward Hotel's banquet room.

Personhood Supporters Shocked, Undeterred

See also Grassroots Mamas: 'We Did It!'

Tate Reeves vs. Reform Party

Here's something interesting: The Associated Press reported that in the lieutenant governor's race between Republican Tate Reeves and the Reform Party's Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill, Hill received 20 percent of the vote, and even won a slight majority in Jefferson County (by 18 votes). That's an unusually high percentage of votes for a third-party candidate; in other races, Reform Party names tend to get 3-4 percent of the vote. Perhaps that 20 percent is as much a vote against Tate Reeves as for Hill. Thoughts? Maybe the Democrats should have found someone to run against Reeves after all.

Bryant Claims Victory

In claiming victory as Mississippi's 64th governor, Phil Bryant invoked the names of Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, former Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice and current Gov. Haley Barbour.

Grassroots Mamas: ‘We Did It!'

Just before 10 p.m. last night, Lori Gregory Garrott ran out of her Fondren home, stood on the front lawn and looked around before shouting, "We just won!" She yelled again, louder: "We just won!" The co-founder of Parents Against 26 had to tell the night sky a third time that Mississippi grassroots mamas defeated the Personhood Initiative.

The Day After: Bryant, Hood, Voter ID In; Personhood Out; House May Go GOP

What a night in Mississippi! With national eyes on us, the biggest news of the night is that the state voted about 40-60 against the Personhood Initiative. Predictably, Phil Bryant took the gubernatorial seat, Jim Hood was re-elected attorney general, voters chose eminent-domain limits and voter identification. And this morning, with several seats in limbo awaiting absentee ballot counts, the House of Representatives is set to go Republican.

Bryant: We Will Rise

Tonight, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant invoked the names of Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and former Gov. Kirk Fordice in claiming victory as the state's 64th governor.

Big Winners/Losers We Know About As of Tonight

Here's a race list of who/what won and lost tonight. It's not exhaustive because we're exhausted. We'll attach numbers tomorrow. JFP endorsements have astericks:

Mississippi Deals Personhood Movement a Resounding Defeat

Nov. 8, 2011 -- Tonight was not a good night for the national Personhood USA movement that tried to push Initiative 26 in Mississippi. The opponents took some 60 percent of the vote by the time it was called as a loss. The JFP had a crazy busy night on Twitter (@jxnfreepress and #jxnfreepress) following the progress of 26, as well as voter ID (26) and the eminent domain limits (31). Voter ID passed as expected, and the eminent-domain limits passed. (The Jackson Free Press urged voters to reject personhood and voter ID and approve eminent domain limits—so we won two out of three.

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