Forrest and Lamar county voters turned out in dismal numbers for Tuesday’s primary runoff election for U.S. Senate, but both counties voted to send Democrat David Baria to the Nov. 6 general election to face incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Wicker.
In final but unofficial results in Forrest County, Baria garnered 877 votes to challenger Howard Sherman’s 614 votes. In Lamar County, Baria collected 329 votes, while Sherman totaled 243 votes.
One write-in vote was also cast in Lamar County.
The numbers were good for 3.35 percent voter turnout in Forrest County and 1.69 percent in Lamar County.
Statewide, Baria earned 38,379 votes (59.3 percent), while Sherman garnered 26,353 votes (40.7 percent).
Baria, a state representative from Bay St. Louis and House minority leader, garnered 31.2 percent of the vote in the June 5 primary election.
Late Tuesday night, Wicker sent a statement congratulating Baria on the runoff win.
“(My wife) Gayle and I look forward to seeing him on the campaign trail,” the statement said. “We will continue traveling the state, working to earn votes and communicating our record of conservative accomplishments and a vision for our nation’s future that reflects our Mississippi values.”
Michael Guest, who won the Republican runoff Tuesday for U.S. House of Representatives District 3, will face the Reform Party’s Michael Holland and Democratic state Rep. Ted Evans in the Nov. 6 general election. The 3rd Congressional District covers central portions of Mississippi, including Meridian, Starkville, Pearl, Natchez and parts of Jackson.
