Voters in Mississippi will return to the polls two days before Thanksgiving to decide two judicial races in Runoff Elections.Next Tuesday, November 26, the State Supreme Court District 1, Position 3 seat in Central Mississippi and the Court of Appeals District 5, Position 2 seat in South Mississippi are on the ballot. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters have until Saturday, November 23 at noon to cast their absentee ballots at their local Circuit Clerk’s office. Mail-in absentee ballots must be post-marked by Election Day to be counted. Supreme Court Runoff  State Senator Jenifer Branning is seeking to unseat incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens who has served on the high court for District 1, Position 3 since 2008. Branning has represented State Senate District 18 since 2016 as a Republican. She led the five-candidate field in the November 6 General Election, winning 41.8 percent of the vote in the non-partisan race. “There’s a clear choice in this Runoff because I’m the only candidate who will bring new energy and Constitutional conservative leadership to the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Branning wrote on Facebook a day after the General Election. “I’m the only candidate with legal and legislative experience, and I’m the only candidate endorsed by the Mississippi Republican Party. No matter who you voted for the first time, I’m asking for your vote in the Runoff.” Justice Kitchens drew 35.6 percent of the vote, or just under 20,000 votes less than Branning. He is a former three-term District Attorney and has been endorsed by high profile state Democrats in each of his judicial campaigns. Kitchens has said Mississippi deserves a Justice “who knows the courtroom from experience rather than just theory,” adding that he has spent decades inside the courtroom. “During the next three weeks I’ll be working harder than ever to inform the voters why Jim Kitchens is ready, willing, and able to serve them better than any other candidate,” he posted on Facebook after the General Election. Combined, the two campaigns have raised nearly $1 million this cycle, with Branning pulling in nearly two-thirds of those donations. Over 22 percent of the vote or 71,000 votes up are for grabs from the other three candidates who ran this cycle. The central Mississippi district has traditionally leaned left, giving Kitchens’ campaign hope. However, as with any runoff election, and most especially often low interest judicial races, turnout will be the determining factor come Tuesday. Court of Appeals Runoff After three days of counting, it was officially determined that Amy St. Pe and Jennifer Schloegel would move on to the runoff election in the District 5, Position 2 Court of Appeals race, while Ian Baker, the third candidate, would not. St. Pe, a city attorney and municipal judge in Jackson County with 22 years of legal experience, lead the field, winning six of the eleven counties in the district and pulling in 35.2 percent, or just under 85,000 votes in the November 6 General Election. St. Pe has actively campaigned at local Republican events and is backed by prominent Coast and Pine Belt Republicans for the non-partisan judicial seat. In a Facebook post over the weekend, she drew a line of distinction between her and Schloegel. “Court of Appeals Judges serve 8-year terms and that’s a long time—so it’s vital we elect a proven, Constitutional conservative in this race. That’s why I’m running and it’s a key difference in this election,” St. Pe said. Schloegel, in her fourth term as a Chancery Court Judge for Harrison, Hancock, and Stone Counties, came in over 5,000 votes below St. Pe, drawing 33.1 percent of the vote. She carried just two counties – Harrison and Hancock. The Coast judge, too, took to social media last week to make her case against St. Pe. “Admitted to the practice of law in 1991, I have 33 years experience with 14 of those as a full-time trial judge. I have been elected 4 times as Chancery Judge and upheld on appeal 32 of 33 times… a proven record of making sound legal decisions,” Schloegel wrote on Facebook. “My opponent was appointed 3 years ago as a part-time municipal judge and practices law. She has never been elected to any public office.” According to pre-election campaign finance filings, St. Pe’s campaign raised $197,000 to Schloegel’s $174,000 this cycle. The key to this race for both women is winning over Baker’s voters, which totaled just over 76,000, while also getting their supporters back to the polls during a holiday week for a judicial race, which traditionally has not drawn high voter interest. The winner will replace Joel Smith on the 10-judge appellate court. Smith was appointed to the bench in 2021 by Governor Tate Reeves but did not seek the seat this election cycle. Source: Magnolia Tribune - https://magnoliatribune.com/2024/11/19/judicial-runoff-elections-two-days-before-thanksgiving-in-central-south-mississippi/

While most Mississippians will be focused on who they’ll mark down to be the next president of the United States on Election Day, a collection of important judicial seats for the state’s highest courts are also up for election. The state court of appeals, Mississippi’s second-highest court, has three seats up for reelection with one being contested. Two state supreme court seats will also be on the ballot this Tuesday, including a hotly contested, five-candidate race for the central district supreme court seat. For the court of appeals seats, a pair of incumbents found no need to campaign as no one decided to challenge them. Both Judge Latrice Westbrooks (District 2, Position 2) and Judge Jack Wilson (District 3, Position 1) will begin their second terms in January 2025. But when Judge Joel Smith opted not to run for the District 5, Position 2 seat, which he has held since being appointed by Governor Tate Reeves in 2021, three new candidates arose for the seat primarily representing south Mississippi. Ian Baker, Jennifer Schloegel, and Amy Lassiter St. Pe’ are contending for the seat. Baker carries the only court of appeals experience of the three, albeit as a judicial clerk, and is also the lone candidate to have never served as a judge. The Mississippi Gulf Coast native then spent six years practicing as a private attorney before joining the Harrison, Hancock, and Stone County District Attorney’s Office. He currently serves as the office’s Division Chief for Gulfport, Division 2, where he prosecutes major violent crimes, gang crimes, sex crimes, and drug trafficking crimes. “I believe your Court of Appeals Judge should have experience that matters,” Baker’s campaign website says. “My experience as a prosecutor, civil litigator, and Judicial Clerk for the Court of Appeals has prepared me to serve the State of Mississippi well.” Jennifer Schloegel was first elected to a bench seat in 2010 as chancery court judge for Harrison, Hancock, and Stone counties, where she is presently serving her fourth term. On the chancery court, she has presided for 14 years over disputes involving business and contracts, land, government, public records, tidelands, and domestic relations. Before working as a judge, the University of Mississippi School of Law graduate was a practicing attorney for 19 years. “My 14 years of judicial experience has prepared me to be a court of appeals judge on day one,” Schloegel says in a campaign advertisement. “The law is the law, but I am fair.” St. Pe’ also carries judicial experience as a municipal court judge in Gautier, in addition to working as the city attorney for Moss Point for a total of 16 years. The Southern Miss and Mississippi College School of Law product became the first female to sit on a municipal bench in Jackson County after being appointed by the Gautier City Council in 2021. “I’m the only candidate endorsed by the state’s largest pro-business group because of my background, commitment to fairness, and always following the rule of law,” St. Pe’ said in a campaign ad. “I’ll use my 22 years of legal experience, including serving as a municipal judge and city attorney, to treat everyone equally and with respect.” To be prepared and informed when you visit your local poll on Tuesday, you can visit the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website here . Copyright 2024 SuperTalk Mississippi Media. All rights reserved. Source: SuperTalk Mississippi - https://www.supertalk.fm/trio-of-candidates-vie-for-open-mississippi-court-of-appeals-seat/

During our WXXV Votes Election Special, we spoke to three candidates vying to become the next Court of Appeals judge for district five, position two. Candidate Amy St. Pe speaks with WXXV on that race. Source: WXXV - https://www.wxxv25.com/amy-st-pe-running-for-court-of-appeals-judge-for-district-5-position-2-speaks-to-wxxv/

The Board of Directors for the Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC) recommends Amy St. Pe as the candidate who will best uphold the impartiality and fairness of Mississippi's second highest court. The election is November 5. Not long ago, Mississippi was labeled a "judicial hellhole "where plaintiff lawyers ruled, and businesses were guaranteed to face verdicts that were disproportionate, unreasonable, or outrageous given the factual circumstances of a case. The passage of tort reform curbed that practice, but plaintiff-friendly Judges could completely undo the gains that we have made. "It is essential to job creators in Mississippi that we support judicial candidates willing to uphold the constitutional separation of powers, distinguishing the intent, charge, and actions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government," said BIPEC President & CEO Derek Easley. "Free enterprise and entrepreneurship require an impartial, fair, and rule-of-law judiciary."