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John Horhn, a longtime state senator, is the next mayor of Mississippi’s capital and will inherit a city with crumbling infrastructure, declining population, low economic mobility among residents and untold promise. 

The Democratic nominee received 67% of the unofficial vote Tuesday against five opponents, including a police officer who ran as a Republican and four independents – a businessman with ties to south Jackson anti-violence efforts, a 27-year old musician and frequent city council public commenter, a child care development specialist and a conservative talk radio host who publicly dropped out of the race but still appeared on the ballot.

The general election held June 3 did not come with a possibility of a runoff, meaning whoever secured the most votes won, even if they lacked a majority of votes – a requirement only in primaries.

With an 82% Black population that votes heavily Democratic, Jackson’s general elections aren’t typically competitive. Despite chatter that a white businessman named Rodney DePriest was on Horhn’s heels, Tuesday was no exception. Horhn would have avoided a runoff anyway. Political newcomer DePriest had won 28% of the counted ballots Tuesday night.

About 21% of registered voters visited the polls Tuesday, roughly on par with turnout in the primary.

The senator was favored in the race after he claimed victory over incumbent Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in the April primary, winning almost 50% of votes in a field of 12 Democratic candidates and then besting Lumumba nearly 3-to-1 in a head-to-head runoff.

During the primary, Horhn faced accusations that he was a pawn for white business interests and buoyed by northeast Jackson Republicans, a sliver of the electorate, switching sides to vote in the Democratic primary. But it wasn’t convincing to the majority of Jacksonians across the city who continued to support him in the runoff and general. 

The 2025 municipal election marked Horhn’s fourth attempt at the mayor’s seat after he ran unsuccessfully in 2009, 2012 and 2017. His campaign slogan was “Jackson is ready.” 

The lifelong Jacksonian, now 70 years old with more than three decades of legislative experience, argued during his campaign that he was the best man to both secure outside resources for Jackson’s poorly maintained infrastructure and fight state efforts to strip the city of local control.

“I’ve been the go-to guy in the Senate when it comes to fighting that stuff,” Horhn told Mississippi Today in April. “I’m not all of a sudden going to change my stripes and hand over the city.”

Horhn, son of a labor organizer and public school cafeteria worker, served the state as a program manager at the Mississippi Arts Commission, State Film Commissioner, federal state programs director for the Governor’s Office and State Tourism Director before becoming a state senator in 1993. Among the legislative accomplishments he’s touted during this race are securing $85 million for the downtown convention center, $20 million for the Westin Hotel, and $20 million for the JSU Metro Parkway. 

Horhn has focused his campaign on the need to restore basic services and functionality back to the city. 

“I’ve chaired the Senate Economic Development Committee in the past. I’ve worked on economic development for the past 32 years as a member of the Senate,” Horhn said during a candidate forum in northwest Jackson last week. “But let me tell you something, we’re not going to have economic development if we don’t clean the city up. We’re not going to have economic development if we don’t restore trust in our city government. We’re not going to have economic development if we don’t have a plan. And so those are going to be the things that I’m going to focus on.”

During his victory speech at The Plant venue in west Fondren, Horhn said that his team is working on a comprehensive plan that lays the groundwork for goals his administration hopes to accomplish in the next three, five and even 10 years.

“Talk is cheap,” he said. “It is now time for action.”

Reporters Maya Miller and Molly Minta contributed to this report.

With mail-in absentee ballots still uncounted, incumbent Ashby Foote is claiming the victory in the hotly contested Ward 1 council race, even as he leads independent Grace Greene by just 10 votes. 

“I’m gonna say we won, but I mean obviously it’ll probably be contested, I mean it could be contested by the other candidates, and that’s their right to do when you have a really tight vote,” he said. “But for the time being it appears that I won.” 

As of Tuesday night, Foote stands at 1,738 votes with Greene at 1,728, according to an unofficial count that includes in-person absentee votes. Democrat Jasmine Barnes, an auditor at the Mississippi Department of Transportation, is in third with 1,713 votes, a drop off from the 2,465 votes she claimed in the April 1 Democratic primary. 

There will be no runoff as Foote does not need a majority of the vote to win, only a plurality. In Mississippi, municipal general elections do not feature a runoff. 

Election officials will process mail-in ballots until up to five days after the June 3 election, meaning it’s possible the race will not be called until next week. The number of affidavit ballots was not known as of Tuesday night. 

The Ward 1 race was considered the most competitive, with seasoned politicos struggling to predict the outcome due in part to recent demographic changes in northeast Jackson. As of last year’s redistricting, the ward, long considered the city’s “white Republican bastion,” was recorded as having fewer white residents than Black. 

“I’m just thankful for all the voters who showed up and thankful to the competitors for the race that they ran,” Greene, an entrepreneur who runs an online reselling business, told Mississippi Today from a call outside her house, which she said was full of neighborhood kids. 

LaDarion Ammons, Barnes’ campaign manager, said that Barnes is in good spirits but they plan to wait until receiving the number of affidavit ballots before making a decision on whether to concede. 

“We think it’s too close to call right now,” he said. 

Foote, the founder of a financial services company, has represented the ward as the council’s lone Republican since 2014. He ran as an independent this year. 

“What a nutty finish,” he said in the parking lot of Bravo, where he got together with a few friends to watch the results.

Foote said he thought the race would be close, so he stopped by the city clerk’s office yesterday to see how many absentee ballots had been filed. The clerk told him there were about 800 for the city and 187 for Ward 1 — 89 of which ended up going to him, he said. 

“I gotta give a special thanks to the people who went to the trouble of going down to City Hall, filling them out and turning it in so they still had their vote even though they were gonna be out of town,” he said. 

Despite leading with a plurality, Foote said he thought Mississippi should change its laws to force a runoff after a general if no candidate gets a majority of the votes, because that would make governing easier for the victors. 

“In this case, I only have 33.6% of the vote and that’s not exactly a resounding majority to say I speak for the citizens,” he said. 

Former Mississippi Medicaid Director Drew Snyder is stepping down as head of the federal Medicaid agency. 

Snyder, an attorney, was tapped by the Trump administration in January to serve as the deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services.

Snyder is resigning due to personal family matters, a source familiar with the situation told Mississippi Today on Tuesday. 

Caprice Knapp, former North Dakota Medicaid director, will take over as interim acting director of the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), the nation’s public health insurance program for children, pregnant women and people who have low incomes or disabilities. 

“Drew has played an invaluable role leading our Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services as we began strengthening the programs to better serve the nation’s most vulnerable,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement. “Caprice is an incredibly talented leader and will help lead the Center through this transition, ensuring we continue building upon Drew’s efforts.” 

Snyder declined to comment to Mississippi Today. Politico first reported the news of his departure. 

Snyder led the Mississippi Division of Medicaid for nearly seven years and was the agency’s longest-serving director. He served under two Republican governors who successfully opposed expanding the Medicaid program to include working low-income Mississippians. 

Snyder also briefly led The Healthcare Collaborative, which represents dozens of hospitals that splintered off from the Mississippi Hospital Association. The Collaborative is housed under Capitol Resources, a powerful multistate lobbying firm that has donated thousands of dollars to Republican officials’ campaigns. 

Snyder’s resignation comes as the Medicaid program faces monumental changes under what Trump calls a “big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will begin making its way through the Senate this week. 

The bill directs states to impose work requirements for Medicaid, lowers the federal match for states that have expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act and requires agencies to conduct eligibility checks more often.

Ty Grisham, John’s son, grew up going with his famous dad to the old Dudy Noble Field, sitting in the Left Field Lounge, gorging himself, he says, on “barbecue, crawfish and college baseball.”

“I thought that was the way college baseball everywhere,” Ty Grisham says.

Years later, Ty Grisham played baseball for Brian O’Connor, the new Mississippi State baseball coach, during O’Connor’s first two seasons at Virginia. Ty Grisham, who graduated from law school at Ole Miss, still lives and works as a lawyer in Charlottesville. So, yes, he seemed the perfect guy to talk to about State’s new baseball coach.

“Brian’s a first-class individual, savvy, intelligent, extremely thoughtful,” Ty Grisham said in a phone conversation Tuesday morning. “I live in Charlottesville, love college baseball and pull for Virginia, so I really, really hate to see him leave. It’s a tough loss for us, but at the same time it’s a home run hire for State.”

In this case, the numbers — and O’Connor’s resume — do not lie. In 22 years with O’Connor at the helm, Virginia has made the NCAA Tournament 18 times, won nine NCAA Regionals, played in seven College World Series, and won a national championship (2015). O’Connor’s overall record: 917-388-2, a winning percentage of better than 70%. Little wonder, at age 54, he already has been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

“He’s just an incredible baseball coach,” Ty Grisham says. “He’s top five in the country if he’s not No. 1.”

Ty Grisham, an outfielder, was inherited, not recruited, by O’Connor. Dennis Womack, O’Connor’s predecessor, recruited the younger Grisham to Virginia from St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, where Grisham was a standout baseball and football player. Womack had a losing record over 23 seasons at Virginia. Things changed quickly under O’Connor, who had been an assistant under Paul Mainieri at Notre Dame.

“Things changed quickly. There was instantly an expectation to win,” Ty Grisham says. “You could just feel things shifting in the locker room. Brian was a gifted motivator. He was very thoughtful, but he was all about making us tougher and more competitive. I well remember the early morning wind sprints.”

That was 2003. O’Connor was 32. Ty Grisham was 19. Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and Georgia Tech were the teams to beat in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia was a middle-of-the-pack ACC team. That changed abruptly. In 2004, O’Connor’s first season, the Cavs won 44, lost 15, finished 18-6 in the ACC and hosted an NCAA Regional. 

“He was definitely a players’ coach,” Ty Grisham says. “I would describe him as savvy, extremely intelligent, just very impressive all around. You don’t get a ton of coachspeak from him. He’s genuine and thoughtful in everything he says.”

I will echo that last part about “thoughtful.” O’Connor brought his 2009 Virginia team to Oxford for a memorable Super Regional. Ole Miss won game one 4-3 in 12 innings. Virginia won by the same score in a second game nail-biter and then clinched the series 5-1 the next day. I approached O’Connor after a press conference for one more question that turned into a 15-minute give-and-take. A week later after a College World Series press conference, he was every bit as engaging and interesting. Put it this way: I have not been surprised by his success in the decade and a half since.

Ty Grisham says he doesn’t know why O’Connor chose to leave Charlottesville for Starkville.

“I can’t speculate,” Grisham said. “He was here 22 years. He’s a legend. I would guess maybe he just wanted a new challenge. The facilities at UVA are good, but not the Mecca you have at Starkville. I don’t know… We haven’t talked since the change.”

So I asked Ty Grisham how he thinks O’Connor will fare in this new age of NIL and the transfer portal. After two consecutive CWS appearances in 2023 and 2024, Virginia faltered to 32-18 (16-11 in the ACC) this past season, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

“Brian was really, really good at finding transfer guys well before NIL and transfer portal opened up,” Grisham said. “He was gifted at evaluating talent, spotting lower level guys who came to UVA and contributed. I will be shocked if he doesn’t win big at State.”

Who will win? In some Jackson council races, not even seasoned politicos know, but one thing is for sure: It all comes down to who votes.

Conventional wisdom holds that in Jackson, race, class and political party are linked. The city’s population is roughly 82% Black and 14% white, with Black Jacksonians historically backing Democrats. Other races make up the remaining 4%.

In the following interactive, you can test your hypothesis of where each candidate’s votes will come from and view the election results based on their support.

To use the tool, type in the portion of the total turnout you think will be made up by Black and white voters in each race and the portion of the Black and white vote you think each candidate will receive to make a result projection. Toggle between elections at the top of this interactive to make projections in council races for Ward 1 and Ward 7.

Some caveats before you get started: The following interactive only deals with turnout by Black and white Jacksonians. We don’t have data to quantify the race of Jackson’s registered voters or the rate of turnout among Black and white voters in past elections.

Considering that turnout is linked with socioeconomic status and has historically been higher in Ward 1 — Jackson’s whitest and wealthiest ward — compared to the rest of the city, you might make the assumption that whites will make up a larger portion of the city’s turnout than their population rate. But how much will that affect the outcome?

With Black residents outnumbering white residents more than 5-t0-1 citywide, higher turnout among affluent whites does not necessarily translate to electoral success for their candidate. But in Wards 1 and 7, where Black residents only slightly outnumber white, voting along racial lines takes center stage.

Several efforts to address some of Mississippi’s most urgent problems — its high risk of HIV transmission, the addiction and overdose crisis and the country’s leading rate of babies dying before their first birthdays — have suffered setbacks since the U.S. Health and Human Services agency rescinded over $230 million of public health dollars from the state this spring. 

Unlike other attorneys general, Mississippi’s top lawyer, Lynn Fitch, has not joined a lawsuit that recouped billions of these dollars across the country. 

In early April, a few days after the federal government withdrew $11.4 billion of promised public health funds, Democratic governors and attorneys general representing 23 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit alleging that the clawback was unlawful. In mid-May, the judge hearing the case granted temporary relief for the states and ordered the country’s health agency to restore funds. 

But the federal judge limited the ruling to states that had joined the lawsuit, and Mississippi is not one of those states. 

When Mississippi Today asked Michelle Williams, chief of staff for Fitch, why Mississippi didn’t join the lawsuit, she said she didn’t know which lawsuit the newsroom was referring to and would have to look at it before commenting. After Mississippi Today emailed her the judge’s ruling, she did not respond. 

The Mississippi State Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health were administering the funds. State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told lawmakers that his agency would lose about $230 million, and the mental health department estimated its federal funding loss from the decision to be just over $7.5 million.

Health Department spokesperson Greg Flynn said in an email that “while we would love to have our federal funding that was allocated restored, we are still providing mission critical services to the public.” 

He went on to say the department understands this will likely not be the last court ruling related to these funds, and the case could end up in U.S. Supreme Court. 

Adam Moore, Flynn’s counterpart at the mental health department, emailed Mississippi Today that while the federal government’s decision caught his agency off-guard, the rescinded dollars were set to expire in September. He said recipients of federal health grants do not always spend all their funds, and there’s no guarantee the $7.5 million cut would have been fully used. 

“It’s simply difficult to speculate on the overall impact and whether they all would have all been utilized before the planned expiration date,” Moore said. 

Five months into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, Mississippi is already seeing the consequences of cuts to these and other promised public health dollars. 

Community mental health centers have had to scale back their efforts like those to address addiction in new and expecting parents, local health departments and partnering organizations have had to shut down free testing for sexually transmitted infections, and the nonprofit administering the state’s safety net family planning program has been forced to lay off half its staff. 

In emailed statements, spokespeople for the federal health and mental health departments have told Mississippi Today that the public health problem these funds addressed is no longer a threat, and the agencies will prioritize the health of Mississippians in a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America.

It all started with a question: Why didn’t Clarksdale, the Mississippi Delta city where “Sinners,” one of the biggest motion pictures in the world right now, is set, have a theater where local people could watch the movie that featured their hometown?

That question inspired an idea: What if Warner Brothers, the studio that produced the film, brought a special screening to the town?

That idea inspired action: A community activist posted an online petition for the major studio to screen the movie in Clarksdale. Within hours, thousands of people had signed.

That question, that idea and that action inspired Aallyah Wright, a journalist for the nonprofit newsroom Capital B and Clarksdale native, to write a story about it. Her story quickly went viral and captured the attention of Warner Brothers and “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler.

The rest, as we can say literally in this case, was history. That series of events brought about a few days that Clarksdale will never forget.

Last week, Coogler, the film’s composer Ludwig Göransson, actor Miles Canton and others who worked on the film attended a special screening at the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium. Hundreds of locals packed the room, watched the film and stayed for a Q&A with the big names in attendance.

Fittingly, the moderator of the post-screening panel was Aallyah. She led a profound conversation that got Coogler and others talking very emotionally about Clarksdale and Mississippi. True to her life’s work, she focused the discussion on the ideas, concerns and experiences of people in the local community.

After Hollywood left town and things settled down, I caught up with Aallyah about how she was feeling about it all. I’m beyond proud to share that Aallyah is a former colleague and friend. Before she started changing lives across America as a journalist at Capital B, she was changing lives across Mississippi as a journalist at Mississippi Today.

Here’s our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Mississippi Today: I know things have been so crazy, but what have these past few days really been like for you?

 Aallyah: I think I’m still processing all of it. It just feels so wild that this has actually happened. I mean, it’s been super emotional for me, too, because folks have all of these misconceptions, perceptions and narratives they want to share about the people in Mississippi and the state as a whole. And we all know a lot of negative narratives don’t necessarily tell the holistic story of people there.

I just think it’s been super rewarding for Clarkdale to be in this spotlight, not just because of the movie but for people to see (the city) in all its glory and beauty. It’s been really important to me to amplify the people who have always been on the ground doing this work for years, some folks even decades. I think that it was just such a heartwarming moment that I couldn’t have imagined to happen in this way. And for me to be a part of that is just so profound, and I’m so proud. I’m just so happy that Mississippi is in the spotlight for something that’s so beautiful. Yeah. And pure and centered on the collective organizing of its people. So yeah, I love that.

Can you give me a sense of what this has been like for Clarksdale from your perspective as a native of the city? You know that place as well as anyone. What has all this meant for the city?

I  go back to Clarksdale often because my family is still there. Of course, I’m always doing reporting and stuff. But honestly, this time and trip home felt so different. There was this renewed sense of energy, purpose, hope and inspiration. I was emotional, I’m not gonna lie. It felt like the tide was changing, and I think it’s because a lot of the young folks are now stepping up in the spirit of our ancestors and people who were part of these instrumental movements. We all know young folks have been at the forefront of leading that charge, and I think that’s the connection with seeing that and why it was so meaningful for me.

Even though there were some negative comments and people saying that this wouldn’t work, it proved a lot of those folks wrong. Now people are just trying to figure out how to build on this momentum. Could we do a cultural festival every year? Could this become an annual thing? I know folks are figuring out how to do a Clarksdale Day event on Labor Day weekend. That can be really cool. People are having conversations about how to build up a creative arts economy there, especially around Blues tourism. How can we allow these folks who are the musicians and creators to benefit from this profitable economy? There are a lot of these different festivals, but a lot of that isn’t created by folks who actually live there. So I think there’s a lot of different questions people are asking in terms of what they can do to not only build on this momentum and sustain this arts and culture, but also create financial stability for folks.

There’s a lot of good things happening in Clarksdale. They just renovated J’s Grocery, the only Black-owned supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood. People should check out Griot Arts. They’re working to renovate the Paramount Theater, which was once a segregated theater in downtown Clarksdale. So there’s a lot of different things that are happening, and people are just trying to figure out what partnerships and collaborations need to happen to create that financial stability, job security and creative arts economy piece.

I want to ask you about those negative comments. Of course there are naysayers who have questioned why anyone spent time on this for Mississippi’s sake. A lot of people love hating on Mississippi, they’ve loved hating on Clarksdale and the Delta these past few days. What do you say to them now, after helping do this amazing thing for the city and the state and helping get the spotlight on this place?

 To be honest with you, I don’t care about the naysayers. I care about the people of Clarksdale, the people of the Delta, the people of Mississippi, and whether or not they trust me to tell the authentic lived experiences and the authentic truths of what’s happening in these communities.

One thing that I would do is challenge folks outside of Mississippi to come to Mississippi, explore the history, talk to the people, sit in these places where these things are happening. A lot of times people will go online who have never even set foot in Mississippi and are taking from these narratives or histories that are steeped in the 1930s or like pre-Civil Rights Movement and think that Mississippi has not progressed in any sense. People have a lot of ignorant comments, and Mississippi is in the news often for very bad and valid reasons. But every single place has its challenges. Mississippi is not the only place with these things that are going on. Mississippi is just always in the spotlight for it because of a very troubling and dark history, right? But again, I challenge people to actually talk to folks there, to actually go there and actually see the progress that Mississippi has made outside of these clickbait headlines that they’re always reading.

So much of the conversation these past few days has been focused on what more needs to be done for communities like Clarksdale. These places are contributing so much to the world, and they’re not getting a ton of support in return. At Capital B, you’ve covered this far beyond just Clarksdale or Mississippi. From your perspective, what needs to be done?

That’s a tough question to answer.  I can say definitively that I feel like everyone has a part to play. Whether you’re a journalist, a schoolteacher in the Mississippi Delta or elsewhere, a local business owner, you work at a chamber of commerce or tourism office, maybe you’re in the state legislature or even work in the federal government, everyone has a part to play to ensure these places have the resources and access they need to thrive.

Too often people feel like regular, everyday people can’t make change or they can’t make some sort of impact. But I’d just like to suggest people to think about the simple things that you can do to support your community. Sometimes it’s just going to the local coffee shop, like in Clarksdale, for example, going to Meraki to purchase some coffee that goes back into the youth nonprofit of Griot Arts. That’s something very simple that you could do to support the work that they’re doing with workforce development. Or maybe it’s just showing up to a community event to learn about what Higher Purpose Hub is doing for economic development and entrepreneurs in the Mississippi Delta.

So it’s how can folks just simply think about what they can do to support what’s going on in their community? How can you vote folks into office who you think could make some important changes? We know that when it comes to folks showing out and going to the polls, it’s not always high voter turnout, so how can you activate people to go to the polls? You know what I mean? All of these things have to work together if we want these places to continue to thrive and not continue to die out. And so without trying to point the blame at any particular person, industry or institution, I just think that we all have a part to play in moving the needle forward.

With this major thing still so fresh on your mind, what would you tell young journalists or really anyone about the potential and power of the work we do?

 Some folks put emphasis on the awards, the accolades and the impact, which could mean a lot of different things. But it’s really important to keep your ear to the ground and be in community with the community. The reason this came about was because of the relationships I’ve cultivated with the people of Clarksdale, not just being a native of Clarkdale. It’s listening and being observant and utilizing my power to amplify voices often overlooked or dismissed. I always have the mindset of community first. I would just charge young folks, people who really want to make a difference, just do that. Learn all that. You can learn so much about the people, the place by just listening and being present. A lot of the work that I’ve done is just showing up at community meetings and going to events and reaching out to folks to have a coffee in person or virtual, just doing all of the things that don’t necessarily manifest in a story right away, but really pouring into folks and cultivating those relationships. You’ll get the impact, you’ll get the awards because it’ll show in the reporting that you do when you do a lot of that groundwork.

Last question for you. I know it wasn’t just one or two people who made all this happen, but it was a coalition of a lot of different people doing a lot of different things. I want to make space for you to shout out those people if you’re willing.

Oh yeah, for sure.  I would shout out Dave Houston and Jaleesa Collins, who were two of the Clarksdale natives who basically threw out the idea like, “Hey, we should have a screening.” Tyler Yarbrough, of course, who then jumped on that and did this open letter to invite the casting crew down. You have folks like Yasmine Malone who’s been part of the planning committee. Jasmine Williams of ‘Sipp Talk Media and her team. You have folks like Justin Hardiman, the phenomenal photographer out of Jackson, Mississippi. A lot of Clarksdale folks like Mark Webb, who’s a pastor, and Christopher Coleman, who works for the city. Tim Lampkin, who was also a part of the planning, with Higher Purpose Hub. Rebekah Pleasant-Patterson with Griot Arts, Storyworks Theater. Mayor Chuck Espy was a huge help in making this happen. There was a huge steering committee of folks that made sure, from idea to execution, that this was able to happen. So many people ended up sponsoring the events. 

Honestly, I also want to shout out Ryan Coogler, the cast, the crew and Warner Brothers because they didn’t have to decide to act on this thing that we did. They could have just seen it and moved on, but they really appreciated the invitation and really wanted to come down and then just learn and soak up the history and be in community with Clarksdale, the Delta and all of those who came. I gotta say that if I missed anybody, charge it to my head and not my heart. Those are just the top people that come to mind.

Former state Sen. Philip Moran and his son Alan have each been arrested and charged with orchestrating a scheme to cover up a crime, according to the Sun Herald.

A grand jury indicted Philip Moran, 64, and Alan Moran, 37, each on one count of bribery of a witness and one count of conspiracy.

The arrests come six months after police arrested two teens for bribing a witness in a stalking case against Alan Moran, a former Diamondhead councilman.

The teens were acting at the direction of the Morans, police say.

Waveland police worked with FBI agents to identify the Morans as being involved in an offer to pay $20,000 to a teen employee at Lowe’s to drop his stalking case against Alan Moran. The Morans allegedly recruited the teens to offer the money to the teen Moran had been stalking.

The arrests come one week before Alan Moran’s June 6 scheduled release from the Hancock County jail. Alan Moran has been serving a sentence for violating his probation in another case as a result of his stalking arrest.

That case is related to his misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for buying beer for a teen on Valentine’s Day in 2022. In the same case, he was convicted of child exploitation for enticing a teen to come to him for sex.

Attorney Donald Rafferty, who is representing Alan Moran, said Friday that his client is innocent and “looks forward to our day in court.”

Attorney H. H. Tracy Klein in Hattiesburg is representing Philip Moran. Philip Moran’s total bond on the charges is $35,000.

Organizers of the Medgar Evers at 100 Weekend have announced that Ambassador Attallah Shabazz, Bettie Dahmer and Reena Evers-Everette will headline a June 26 conversation titled “Daddys’ Daughters.”

The session unites the daughters of civil rights martyrs Malcolm X, Vernon Dahmer and Medgar Evers, for “a rare and intimate dialogue rooted in love, memory, and legacy,” organizers said.

The women will speak during a VIP Reception at 6 p.m. June 26 at the Jackson Convention Complex, 105 E. Pascagoula St. in Jackson. The conversation will mark the opening of the Medgar Evers’ 100th celebration.

“The panelists will share personal stories that illuminate the joys and heartbreaks of growing up in the homes of men who gave everything for justice,” organizers said. “They will reflect on the fierce love that shaped their childhoods, the losses that redefined their lives, and the legacies they now carry forward through their own work and voices.”

Evers-Everette, executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, said, “This conversation is a tribute to Malcolm X, Vernon Dahmer, and my father, Medgar Evers — not just as giants in the fight for justice, but as devoted fathers who poured love into our lives. To sit beside these two courageous women in Mississippi, where our families’ stories are so deeply rooted, is both an honor and a moment of healing. We come together not only to remember, but to continue their unfinished work.”

Shabazz, an ambassador at large for Belize, is a writer, diplomat and human rights advocate. She is the eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. 

Dahmer, daughter of Vernon and Ellie Dahmer, is an advocate for civil rights education. She regularly speaks to students to try and keep her father’s story alive for the next generation.

Evers-Everette has served as executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute since 2012. She is the daughter of Medgar and Myrlie Evers.

The Medgar Evers’ 100th will take place from June 26-29 to commemorate the 100th birthday of the civil rights pioneer.

“Through keynotes, panels, performances, and spiritual gatherings, the weekend will celebrate his life and legacy while inspiring new visions for justice, democracy, and freedom across the South and the nation,” organizers said.

Jackson residents are returning to the polls a third time this year for the June 3 general election to elect a new mayor and council members.

With no runoff possibility, this will be the final voting day in the 2025 municipal elections, what one political analyst described a “last call” for voters this season.

After defeating Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in the primary, Democratic nominee for mayor and state Sen. John Horhn faces a Republican and four independent challengers on the ballot. In Wards 1, 2, 3, and 5, the incumbent faces at least one challenger and in Ward 7, three new candidates are vying for the council seat.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. View campaign finance details for the candidates here and their bios and platforms using the following links:

Follow along for live updates throughout the day and evening.

10:53 PM

Horhn wins: Mayoral election supports ‘Jackson is ready’ for longtime senator to lead

John Horhn, a longtime state senator, is the next mayor of Mississippi’s capital and will inherit a city with crumbling infrastructure, declining population, low economic mobility among residents and untold promise. 

The Democratic nominee received 67% of the unofficial vote Tuesday against five opponents, including a police officer who ran as a Republican and four independents – a businessman with ties to south Jackson anti-violence efforts, a 27-year old musician and frequent city council public commenter, a child care development specialist and a conservative talk radio host who publicly dropped out of the race but still appeared on the ballot.

Read the full story here.

10:32 PM

‘What a nutty finish’: Foote leads by 10 votes in tight Jackson council race

With mail-in absentee ballots still uncounted, incumbent Ashby Foote is claiming the victory in the hotly contested Ward 1 council race, even as he leads independent Grace Greene by just 10 votes. 

“I’m gonna say we won, but I mean obviously it’ll probably be contested, I mean it could be contested by the other candidates, and that’s their right to do when you have a really tight vote,” he said. “But for the time being it appears that I won.” 

Read the full story here.

9:43 PM

“Jackson is ready!” Smiles, cheers and tears at Mayor elect Horhn’s election night party

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Southern Komfort Brass Band ushered in Mayor-elect John Horhn at his packed election night party at The Plant in the Fondren Warehouse District. Horhn, 70, clinched the mayoral seat with more than 16,000 votes, close to 10,000 votes over independent candidate Rodney DePriest.  This is his fourth time running for mayor of the City of Jackson.

“Let me say thank you, thank you to each and every one of you, the unexpected helpers who believed in our vision, who worked on this campaign, and who stood by us every step of the way,” Horhn said in his acceptance speech. His family stood behind him, beaming as he spoke to the crowd. “This moment is as much yours as it is mine.” 

“Our city deserves better than we’ve been getting,” he continued. “We deserve better thriving businesses, streets that are safe, infrastructure that works, communities that are well kept, and opportunities that lift every single neighborhood in this great city.” 

Horhn said that his team is working on a Jackson comprehensive plan that lays the groundwork for goals his administration hopes to accomplish in the next 3, 5, and 10 years.

“Talk is cheap. It is now time for action,” he said.

Horhn also spoke to his opponents, asking them to join him in working to make Jackson better for all residents. 

“Now is a time for unity, and I hope you will join us as we begin to put in the work,” he said. “Together, we will build Jackson into a forward thinking city, that puts its citizens first and collaborates with our county, state and federal partners to strengthen Jackson as the capital city of the great state of Mississippi. As Jackson goes, so will go the state of Mississippi.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. Jackson is ready. Jackson is ready. I’m ready. Now let’s get to work.” 

9:21 PM

Parkinson wins Ward 7 council race, per unofficial results

Kevin Parkinson, a former principal of Midtown Public Charter, has secured the Ward 7 council seat to replace outgoing councilwoman Virgi Lindsay after narrowly leading in the Democratic primary and winning the runoff earlier this year. 

With 1,605 votes, Parkinson defeated independent Ron Aldridge, a Fondren lawyer and business owner, who took home 1,119 votes, according to Tuesday night’s unofficial results. Republican Taylor Turcotte received 121 votes. 

“We feel incredibly blessed and incredibly grateful for everyone who turned out to vote,” Parkinson wrote in a text. “A large team of volunteers and supporters have worked very hard to get us to this point, and I’m so honored to be a part of this movement for a safer, stronger, more prosperous Jackson.”

8:38 PM

DePriest says Jackson in need of ‘business acumen’

Bill Washington, a Flora-based political consultant who managed Rodney DePriest’s independent run for mayor of Jackson, said that when he started talking to folks about the white businessman’s campaign, they encouraged him not to put DePriest’s face on signs. 

That’s how little they believed a white man could get elected mayor of Jackson. But Washington, who is Black, pushed back on that. 

“We want folks to know who you are,” he said he told DePriest. “We aren’t hiding.” 

At DePriest’s election watch party at the ICE House – the venue where outgoing mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba held his watch party during the Democratic primary runoff – Washington said that he met DePriest last year at the request of Ronnie Crudup Jr. and initially encouraged him to run for the Ward 1 city council seat. 

But DePriest said that’s not what God asked him to do. 

“And I said well I can’t argue with that,” Washington said. “But I think we need to talk more about the dynamics and the cost of running a real campaign for mayor of the city of Jackson.”  

As of the last filing date before the general election, DePriest raised just shy of $90,000 in support of his run, though he had in-kind donations of more than $17,000 for marketing, video and branding, DePriest said. In comparison, state Sen. John Horhn raised $350,000, not counting what he raised in 2024 during a nearly year-long campaign. 

Washington said he and DePriest also discussed the businessman’s decision to run as an independent in a heavily Democratic city. 

“But his thing was, the D is way over here and the R is way over there, so we’re gonna stand in the middle,” Washington said. 

Just after 8:30 p.m., the ballot count showed DePriest recieved 28% of the vote compared to Horhn’s 67%, with all precincts reporting. As jazz renditions of popular songs played, DePriest said that he would never diminish Horhn’s contributions to the city of Jackson but that if elected, he planned to approach the job of mayor with his business background in mind. 

“I’m the old contractor, so I bring a construction and business approach to most everything I do,” Depriest said. “And I think Jackson is in need of some business acumen.”

8:03 PM

Servis supporters looking for a “fighter”

“You ready to make history, sir?” a guest at Zach Servis’ election night watch party asked. 

“Yes, I am,” the independent candidate for mayor responded. 

More than a dozen people have begun to gather at Duling Hall in support of Servis, including Starkette Stewart. 

Stewart said that she voted for Servis because he’s “young, energetic, kind, well-informed, knowledgeable, a disruptor and Christian.” The longtime Jacksonian was looking for a candidate who stood on their principles, and for her, that was Servis. 

“I think he has a clear vision for the city of Jackson,” Stewart said. “He’s planning to bring back jobs, which is what we need, tackle crime, handle youth problems and the problems we have down at City Hall with the city government … He’s a fighter.” 

Pertis Williams echoes her sentiments. For him, he wanted a candidate that was young to bring fresh energy to City Hall. 

“Some of the candidates are good people, but are they going to fight for Jackson?” Williams said. “Are they going to compromise, or will they fight?”

With 45% reporting, Servis trails behind with 2.92% of the vote. 

6:42 PM

Voting ‘pretty smooth’ in Ward 5 but council candidates anticipating low turnout

Independent Ward 5 council candidate Ray McCants said he’s spent Election Day visiting polling locations and encouraging people to vote. He faces off with incumbent Vernon Hartley, a Democrat first elected to office in 2021. McCants cast his ballot earlier today and said it was a “quick, fast, easy, inviting and a smooth process.”

McCants said that by 4:00 p.m., his polling location, Blackburn Middle School, had seen 175 voters, compared to the April 1 Primary, where 274 ballots were cast. He estimated a total of 1,200 votes coming in tonight from Ward 5’s 15 precincts.

“Based on the poll managers, some locations are feeling low,” he said. “We have a couple of locations that may be doing better than normal, but for the most part, everyone feels like it’s been low or standard.”

Hartley also said he’s concerned about low turnout in his ward. He voted at Pearl Street A.M.E. Church and said he was number 200. 

“The (poll worker) there said it’s normally about 400, so they’re halfway down,” Hartley said. 

He hopes that by the time polls close, those numbers will rise.

“Today is the voter’s day,” Hartley said. “They got to get out and do what they do.”

If elected, McCants said he hopes to bring a new energy and unity within the city council, Jackson government and the state as a whole. 

And if he loses the election tonight? 

“I want the same,” he said.

4:57 PM

Over 800 absentee ballots cast in general election

Jackson Municipal Clerk Angela Harris said over 800 in-person absentee ballots have been cast in the weeks leading up to the general election. 

Harris said she did not have information to quantify how that figure compares to past elections, but during the April 1 primary, the clerk told reporters she had collected over 800 then as well.

The last day Jacksonians could vote absentee in person was May 31, but all mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by today and will be collected and counted for up to five business days.

4:49 PM

Independent mayoral candidate, child care specialist, prepares for victory

Independent candidate for mayor Lillie Stewart-Robinson, a child development worker, voted around 1 p.m. at her precinct, the Fire Station of Medgar Evers Boulevard in Ward 4.

“People were excited coming in and voting — young and old,” Stewart-Robinson said.

She said about 200 people had voted there by midday, which would appear to be on track with the roughly 400 people who voted there in the primary.

“We’ve been working over these months, and got the word out over these months. And it was just good to see everybody — my neighbors, my former students, parents … It was like a reuinion,” she said.

Reached by phone just before 5 p.m., Stewart-Robinson had a message for Jacksonians: “Please go out and vote. It’s not too late.”

She said she plans to hold a victory celebration this evening at her church. Asked what’s next if she’s unsuccessful, Stewart-Robinson responded, “I can’t make myself believe that.”

4:27 PM

Ward 1 council candidates feed poll workers, watchers

Independent Ward 1 council candidate Grace Greene and her family were eating sprinkled donuts and an apple fritter to celebrate voting when Ashby Foote walked into Daylight Donuts around 9 a.m.  

“He had his big ‘Foote’ hat on – you can’t miss him – and his zipper tactical vest and his sunglasses,” said Greene, an entrepreneur who runs an online reselling business. “My husband was like he looks pretty intense, like he’s running military ops.” 

The Ward 1 incumbent councilman was picking up glazed donuts to bring to poll workers at precincts throughout the northeast Jackson ward, something he says he’s done the past several elections. He gets 10 boxes: Nine for the workers at each precinct and an extra box just in case.

“It lightens up their mood,” said Foote, who has been the lone Republican on the council since he was elected in 2014 but is running as an independent this year. 

Democratic candidate Jasmine Barnes, an auditor at the Mississippi Department of Transportation, also passed out food to her poll watchers who were sitting in front of the precincts. She said she brought them Chick-fil-a biscuits for breakfast and turkey legs for lunch. 

“I feel really good,” she said. “People have been (honking) at my poll workers or doing a thumbs up and even when I was out there, I’ve been out there waving and stuff like that.”

The race for the Ward 1 council seat is among the city’s most contested elections this year, with even seasoned politicos uncertain of the outcome. But all three candidates say the energy in the ward seems high, indicating the race may not see an especially low voter turnout. 

“There were lots of folks outside,” Foote said after surveying the ward’s precincts. “Campaign workers, tents set up, an explosion of new signs that had popped up overnight for the different candidates, and it all certainly had a presence of energy that was exciting to see.”

On his journey through the ward’s precincts, Foote encountered an 85-year-old woman at Willie Morris Library who was turned away because poll workers told her that she was registered to vote at McLeod Elementary School. 

Foote did not give her a donut. 

“They’re not for voters,” he said. “But she did follow me over to McLeod.”

3:15 PM

Project election outcomes with our interactive tool

Conventional wisdom holds that in Jackson, race, class and political party are linked. The city’s population is roughly 82% Black and 14% white, with Black Jacksonians historically backing Democrats. Other races make up the remaining 4%.

In our interactive tool, you can test your hypothesis of where each candidate’s votes will come from and view the election results based on their support.

2:45 PM

Jacksonians at Ward 1’s Christ United voting to ‘exhibit concern about the direction’ of the city

Cynthia McNamara votes in every election. She’s here at Christ United Church in Ward 1, where, by 2:45 p.m., 564 ballots had been cast. That’s a little more than half of the 1,030 who voted there in the April 1 primary with more than four hours left to vote.

“How you vote signifies how you want your life to be, what goods and services you want to function in your community, what are the goals of your government. Are they the same as yours? You need to align yourself with what you want your goals to be,” McNamara said.

Though she kept her vote private, she said she voted for someone who has a vision for what Jackson could be in the future. 

“It’s not a vision about how they can be enriched, how they can become more powerful, but how he can make our community better and thrive,” she said. “I want Jackson, Mississippi to thrive, and that’s what my vote meant to me today.” 

John May also voted at Christ United. He said that he hopes the next mayor will first tackle Jackson’s crumbling infrastructure. 

“If you take care of the infrastructure, I think you can do economic development, and it’ll get rid of crime and knock down some blighted properties.”

He stressed the importance of showing up for municipal elections and compared it to voting for the president.

“If you don’t participate in that, you’re not fully exhibiting any concern about the direction in which the city is going to go,” he said. “Quite frankly, you need good people if you want good government. You have to have good people if you want good government.”

2:31 PM

Ward 7 council candidates bemoan low turnout

Candidates in the contested Ward 7 council race to replace outgoing councilwoman Virgi Lindsay say turnout across the ward appears to be down from past elections this year, as voters may be experiencing election fatigue or perhaps are planning to vote later in the day. 

“That is certainly not good,” said Ward 7 candidate Kevin Parkinson, a former principal of Midtown Public Charter who is running as a Democrat. “I have heard rumors that we’ve had a large amount of absentee voting which I’m thrilled about. If that turns out to be true, I think that’s great, great, fantastic news, but if we see an overall decline in the number of people who vote, that’s certainly sad, and it means anything can happen.” 

In Jackson’s Democratic primary runoff on April 22, a little over 23,000 people cast a ballot, while more than 26,000 voted in the April 1 primary. 

Ron Aldridge, an independent who is a Fondren business owner and lawyer, speculated that Jacksonians may have felt those elections were more important than the general. 

“I think a lot of folks felt that they had solved, I guess you could say, part of the problem, a major part of the problem and were okay with how it came out otherwise,” he said. 

Parkinson said he has been driving around the ward, doorknocking, texting and calling voters to encourage them to vote but that when he voted this morning at Belhaven College, fewer than 10 other people had cast a ballot. 

“It will be very, very close,” he said, “I think it’s gonna be important for everyone to get out and get your voice heard.” 

For his part, Aldridge said he made a trip around lunchtime to three precincts in the southern part of the ward and did not observe many people voting. 

“I didn’t see a line anywhere,” he said. 

Aldridge said he planned to check on polls in Belhaven and Fondren later today when he brings his grandchildren – third-grade twins – to the polls. He added that he did not know how a low turnout might impact his chances at election.

“That’s one of those things in politics you can’t guess,” he said. “You just wait to see.”

1:30 PM

Steady trickle of voters at Ward 7 precinct

By 1:30 p.m., 217 ballots had been cast at Fondren Presbyterian Church in Ward 7. During the April 1 primary, 408 votes were cast, in a precinct with about 1,200 registered voters. 

Lessie Tripp said one issue that led her to voting for Democrat John Horhn is the quality of Jackson’s infrastructure. 

“It looks like it’s decaying to me,” Tripp said. “I hope we can get somebody that’s going to do something about it.” 

She urges voters to understand the power of one vote. 

“All votes count,” she said. “At least mine does because I come out and vote.”

Joy, who declined to provide her last name, said she’s voting for Horhn because he has the experience. 

“He worked for the Senate. He knows how to work between state and local,” Joy said. “He’s going to be a negotiator and not get everybody bent out of shape over issues. He can work with the Legislature. We need that.”

Joy, who has lived in Fondren since 1990, also said she’s also voting for independent candidate Ron Aldridge for council.

“He’s professional, strong, sensible and smart, and he will get the job done,” she said.

12:03 PM

Outgoing Mayor Lumumba: ‘I’m in a season of gratitude’

Outgoing Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, responding to a council discussion about salaries, encouraged the councilmembers to release any resentment they may have, because he “won’t be the subject of your consternation going forward.”

Lumumba, who failed to secure reelection against state Sen. John Horhn in the Democratic primary runoff, said he was in a “season of gratitude” and wanted the council to know that he was not leaving the post with “animosity.”

“When I go home at night, as nice of people that you are, I don’t think about you,” he said. “Really, you’re not on my mind. You’re not my type.” 

This comment prompted laughs and outgoing Ward 6 councilman Aaron Banks to ask Lumumba if he was serious.

11:48 AM

Crudups divided on candidate support

Indepedent mayoral candidate and businessman Rodney DePriest said he first met the lawmaker representing parts of south Jackson, Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr., after deciding a few years ago to take a more active role in solutions to violence across the city and joining the efforts of Young Life.

They meet as a group weekly at Jim Hill High School in south Jackson.

“From day one, even before the public knew I was running for mayor, Ronnie was part of the conversation and Ronnie’s a close friend,” DePriest said. “The first public event we had was the Martin Luther King Day Parade and Ronnie walked in that parade with me that day. So he’s been supportive throughout the campaign.”

Crudup Jr.’s political powerhouse father, Pastor Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church in south Jackson, has been a vocal supporter of Democratic mayoral candidate and state Sen. John Horhn. But on election eve, Crudup Jr. publicly endorsed his friend DePriest.

“I’m voting for Rodney tomorrow because he has the resume, plus work and management experience to do the job well,” Crudup Jr. posted on Facebook Monday evening. “I know that some may not agree with me, but I have no regrets in support of my friend.”

DePriest voted at Casey Elementary School around 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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11:04 AM

Independent mayoral candidate addresses city council

Zach Servis, a musical artist running as an independent candidate for mayor, addressed the Jackson City Council during public comment this morning, celebrating what he described as “an opportunity to put eight years of corruption and mismanagement behind us.” 

Servis, who wore a black suit, was previously escorted from a city council meeting for wearing campaign material, leading Servis to tell the Clarion Ledger that he was planning to file a lawsuit. 

As he left, Servis shook hands with David Archie, a former candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary who recently joined the city’s constituent services office. 

10:30 AM

Sen. Horhn, Democratic nominee for mayor, votes in Ward 2

State Sen. John Horhn, who handily defeated outgoing Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in the April primary to become the Democratic nominee for mayor, voted at Aldersgate Methodist Church around 10:30 a.m.

The precinct in Horhn’s Ward 2 neighborhood had the highest turnout in the city in April, with 46% of registered voters participating in the primary election.

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9:13 AM

Horhn campaign not witnessing irregularities

A spokesperson for Democratic mayoral candidate John Horhn’s campaign said that with poll watchers at several precincts across the city, no irregularities have been identified. Eric Walker said they checked the voting machines to ensure they had recorded zero votes at the beginning of Election Day.

“Everything seems to be running pretty smoothly,” he said.

Watchers are keeping an eye on the supply of ballots. In the last election, one precinct, Willie Morris Library in Ward 1, had a larger turnout than expected, ran out of ballots while residents were attempting to vote, and the clerk had to deliver more to the location.

7:15 AM

Republican candidate for mayor visits poll as it opens

Republican candidate for mayor Kenny Gee, a police officer, pulled up to his West Jackson polling location at Medgar Evers Library at 6:58 a.m. He said he was the fourth in line to vote at the precinct, which had a turnout rate of just under 20% in the primary election.

“I think Jackson needs help,” Gee said just after voting for himself and Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes Tuesday. “I think Sen. Horhn might pull the race off, just because he’s just well known, majority of the citizens know Sen. Horhn from being a senator. But overall, whoever is the mayor needs to be a two-term mayor because you can’t fix Jackson in four years.”