By PJ Tracy
Murfreesboro Diamond
Pike County voters went to the polls last week for their choices in the preferential primary elections.
In total, 36.44% of the registered voters in the county cast a ballot — 2,230 of the 6,120 eligible to vote.
More voters chose the early voter option — 1,258 — versus the 961 that participated on election day.
On the Republican side of the ticket several local contests were decided including the reelection of incumbents Eddie Howard for Pike County Judge and Travis Hill for Pike County Sheriff.
Howard avoided a runoff by taking 60.95% of the vote in a four person contest. He collected 1,222 votes countywide versus his challengers including Keith Couch (481 votes), Wade Stewart (161 votes) and Robert Shelby (133 votes).
Hill defeated Murfreesboro Police Chief Randy Lamb by a 1,240-761 vote. Hill will face former Pike County Sheriff’s deputy Obie Laurent in the November elections. Laurent, running as an independent candidate, resigned from his position recently.
In other local elections, the Pike County Quorum Court will see at least three new faces in January, with Roger Floyd defeating challenger Payton Eckert 165-56 for the vacant District 1 position that was vacated after Lamb decided to run for sheriff. In District 6, Ron Parker defeated incumbent Kip Holbrook 164-52, while District 7 chose Robert “Mac” Irvin over incumbent Richard Mohlenhoff by a 133-74 margin.
Embattled District 9-West Prosecuting Attorney Jana Bradford lost her bid for reelection both in Pike County and in the four county race. Erin Hunter received 1,437 votes in Pike County en route to being elected to the position overall, defeating Bradford (351 votes) and Clayton Tinkes (334 votes) in the county election.
In school board elections, Carrie Tidwell defeated incumbent Alyssa Duggan 103-74 for the Zone 7 position on the South Pike County School Board.
In the Zone 4 Centerpoint School Board District election, Larry Harvey defeated Pake Sutton by a 10-7 margin.
In statewide elections, Tom Cotton (1,667 votes) won in landslide fashion for his U.S. Senate seat versus Micah Ashby (179 votes) and Jeb Little (132 votes). Cotton would cruise statewide by about the same margin in the election.
Cole Jester won Pike County 1,502-395 over Christian Olson in the Republican Commissioner of State Lands race. Jester would also handily win the statewide race.
Pike County went a little different than the rest of the state in the Republican Secretary of State race by choosing Cathy Hardin Harrison with the most votes (738) over challengers Bryan Norris (631) and Kim Hammer (504). However, after the results were collected statewide, Harrison was on the losing end of the three way race that will require a runoff statewide.
Early voting for the runoff between Norris and Hammer will begin March 24-27 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Pike County Clerk’s office in Murfreesboro and the Bainum Library and Learning Center in Glenwood. Both locations will also be active on Monday, March 30 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Election day will be held on March 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the four vote centers across Pike County — Bainum Library in Glenwood, Bethlehem Baptist Center in Kirby, Delight Cafeteria in Delight and the Municipal Building in Murfreesboro.
Viters should note that for a person to vote in the runoff, they must have cast ballots of Republican, non-partisan ballot, or did not vote in the primary election. Willful violation of that prohibition is a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to a one-year incarceration and a fine of up to $2,500.
In Democratic statewide contests, Hallie Shoffner defeated Ethan Dunbar 74-26 for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Shoffner also won the statewide vote.
Pike County voters chose James “Rus” Russell over Steven Layne O’Donnell by a 53-45 margin for the U.S. Congress District 4 race. Russell would win the multi county race as well.
For the Democratic Governor candidate, Pike County chose Fred Love over Supha Xayprasith Mays by a 87-10 margin. Love was also the more popular choice statewide.
In the non-partisan category, Pike County chose Nick Bronni as their choice for State Supreme Court Justice Position Three. Bronni defeated John Adams in county 711-420. Bronni would more narrowly prevail statewide as well in the contest.
