JACKSON, Miss.—Jackson City Councilman Ashby Foote has won reelection by fewer than 10 votes after election officials finished counting absentee and affidavit ballots late Wednesday morning, more than a week after the June 3 municipal elections.
Shortly after learning he had won around 11 a.m., the Republican-turned-independent councilman said he looks forward to working with Democratic Mayor-elect John Horhn, who is replacing outgoing Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba.
“I look forward to serving the broader needs of Ward 1,” Foote said, adding that public safety, crime and blight are his top concerns.
The councilman credited his opponents, independent Grace Greene and Democrat Jasmine Barnes, “for well-thought, hard-fought campaigns.”
The race was exceptionally close between the three candidates. On the night of the general election, Foote led the race with 1,738 votes, while Greene trailed closely behind with 1,728 and Barnes was in third with 1,713. With counting now complete, the vote totals barely budged; Foote now has 1,739 votes, Greene has 1,731 votes and Barnes has 1,716 votes.
Unlike statewide elections and municipal primaries, municipal general elections do not have runoffs; the candidate with the most votes wins the election even if he or she does not crack 50%.
The current tally is unofficial, but election officials do not expect the outcome to change when the official tally is finalized tomorrow ahead of a June 13 deadline.
The population of Ward 1 grew significantly between 2010 and 2020, Census data showed. In August 2024, the Jackson City Council approved new ward maps intended to balance population evenly across the city.
On June 10, Greene told the Mississippi Free Press that she thinks the results signify that many Ward 1 residents want new representation.
“You could say that two-thirds of the people voted for a change from the incumbent. Jasmine and I were both political newcomers and ran strong campaigns,” she said. “The majority of people wanted a change in representation at City Hall.”
