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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Nine people have qualified to run for a Mississippi Senate seat vacated in June when Sen. Sampson Jackson retired after 29 years.

Gov. Tate Reeves scheduled a special election for Tuesday, Nov. 2, WTOK-TV reported. A runoff election, if necessary, will be held Nov. 23.

The candidates for the District 32 seat, in alphabetical order, are: W.J. Coleman, Stan Copeland, James Creer, Justin Curtis Creer, Minh Duong, Rod Hickman, Kim Houston, Keith Jackson and Bradley Joseph Sudduth. The district covers Kemper, Lauderdale, Noxubee and Winston counties.

There are two other special elections being held in the state on Nov. 2.

The Senate District 38 seat, which is comprised of Pike, Adams, Amite, Walthall and Wilkinson counties, was left vacant when Tammy Witherspoon resigned after her election as mayor of Magnolia, Mississippi.

And, one candidate has filed to run for House District 29, covering Sunflower and Bolivar counties, after Abe Hudson, Jr., resigned Aug. 30.

The deadline for new voters to register to participate in the special election is Monday, Oct. 4.

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

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