Jackson City Council Member Ashby Foote wants to get out one message before the primary election on Tuesday, April 1.
Foote wants Republicans to forget about voting for one of their party’s three candidates in the primary election and cast their votes in the Democratic primary for one of the 12 candidates.
“The most important race on the ballot is going to be the mayor’s race,” said Foote, who is running for re-election as an Independent (instead of a Republican as he has in the past) to encourage voters to cast ballots as Democrats in the primary election. Candidates who run as Independents are not on the ballot until the general election on June 3.
“The Democrats are 80 percent of the population in Jackson. It’s likely whoever wins the Democratic primary will be the mayor.”
Mississippi has an open election and doesn’t require a voter to register for a political party affiliation. During a primary election, a voter selects either a Democrat or a Republican ballot.
Democratic candidates for mayor are David Archie, a former Hinds County supervisor; James “Blue” Butler, a construction and plumbing contractor; LaKeisha Crye, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner; Delano Funches, an attorney; Socrates Garrett, owner of Socrates Garrett Enterprises, a city and state subcontractor, SG Trucking and We Believe Digital Broadcasting Studio; Tim Henderson, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who is a consultant in the aerospace industry; James Hopkins, who works in retail management and is a community activist; John Horhn, a state senator since 1993, serving District 26 of Hinds and Madison counties; Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the incumbent mayor; Kourtney Christopher Paige, former television and radio personality; Marcus Wallace, former Edwards mayor (2013-2021), general contractor and sports entertainment agent; and Albert Wilson, leader of the Genesis and Light Center that serves at risk youth, seniors, veterans and others.
Republican candidates for mayor are Wilfred Beal, senior transportation management consultant/executive director-general manager for a Southeast and Midwest Transit Authority; Ponto Downing, former sales executive and newspaper editor; and Kenneth Gee, who has more than 15 years of experience in law enforcement.
The Democratic primary ballot will also include 12 candidates for Democratic Executive Committee, the body that qualifies candidates for the democratic primary.
Independent candidates do not have a primary and will not be on the ballot until the general election on June 3. Independent candidates for mayor are Rodney DePriest, former city of Clinton alderman who owned and operated a construction company; Lillie Stewart-Robinson, a child development director; Zach Servis, owner of Sound by Servis and an audio/visual contractor; and Kim Wade, licensed real estate agent and talk show host.
Marty Wiseman, Ph.D., emeritus professor of political science and emeritus director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University, said Foote’s strategy for Republicans is sound, especially since most Jackson voters are Democrats.
“It makes a lot of sense, particularly given the array of candidates running for mayor,” he said. “It’s a logical thing to do. Nothing wrong with it.”
Nathan Shrader, a former associate professor of government and politics at Millsaps College who is now associate professor of politics at New England College, wonders how many Republicans will take Foote’s suggestion.
Politics are so polarized that some Republicans would never dream of associating with Democrats, he said.
Wiseman also wonders how many Republicans will vote as Foote recommends. “He’s likely to have some convincing to do, but they may slit their wrists and do it,” he said.
If enough Republicans vote as Democrats, those voters could determine which candidate winds up in the primary runoff election on April 22, Wiseman said.
“If just a few folks take his word and cross over it could make a difference,” he said.
A runoff is likely in the Democratic primary election for mayor due to the large number of candidates. Winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries and Independent candidates will face off in the general election on June 3. The winner of the general election will be the candidates who receive the greatest percentage of votes, even if it does not exceed 50 percent of the vote.
There is one thing to keep in mind about how one votes in the primary election.
“You’re supposed to vote for the same party in the primary runoff election that you did in the primary election,” Wiseman said. “You can’t switch in the run-off election.
“Do people switch and get away with it? A whole lot. I don’t think that’s a well-known fact that you’re not supposed to switch in the primary runoff among the rank-and-file voters but there’s not a lot of investigation into it. People do it who just don’t know better.”
Shrader said he expects Lumumba to advance to the primary run-off election.
“I believe with the large field of candidates that benefits the incumbent,” he said. “He’s popular with a certain segment of voter in Jackson.”
If voters cast ballots based on name recognition, Lumumba might get re-elected, Wiseman said.
“If you go by raw political thinking, Lumumba is by far the best known other than Sen. John Horhn,” he said. “Whether he’s known in a good way or bad way, he’s been mayor for a while and has criminal charges hanging over his head and is in the news all the time. People who don’t pay attention to politics on a daily basis may say, ‘He’s the only one I know and I’m just going to cast my ballot for him.”’
Lumumba, along with Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and Jackson City Council Member Aaron Banks of Ward 6, was indicted on federal corruption charges earlier this year and pled not guilty. A trial date has been set for July 13, 2026.
Party affiliation isn’t always important at the municipal level, Wiseman said.
“You may hear it said that a pothole on Main Street isn’t a Republican pothole or a Democratic pothole,” he said. “To the regular ol’ go to work everyday citizen and hope that life is good in town it boils down to this: Is the trash picked up? Is the water drinkable? Does a policeman show before the crime is over?
“As long as they have someone that they think delivers on those services, the party is less of a big deal,” Wiseman said. “The county level used to be the last bastion of party politics but now they’re all Republicans.”
Shrader said he was intrigued that Foote, a lifelong Republican chose to run as an Independent. The change works best if voters already know the candidate, he said, naming state Rep. Shanda Yates of District 64, who in 2022 switched from being a Democrat to an Independent
Getting things done at the municipal level is about “blocking and tackling” more than it is party politics, Foote said. “It’s not like there’s a big policy divide. It’s about getting the government working so it benefits the citizens.”
Foote, whose ward includes northeast Jackson, will face Grace Greene, an Independent ln the general election. Democrats Jasmine Barnes, Rhoda Barnes, Jessica Carter and Stephen Thompson are also vying for the Ward 1 seat.
Ward 7, which includes Belhaven and Fondren, will see Democrats Bruce Barton, Turner Martin, Kevin Parkinson, Corinthian Sanders and Quint Withers and one Republican, Taylor Turcotte, on the ballot for the primary election. Ron Aldridge, an Impendent, will be on the ballot during the general election.
Linda Young of Jackson said the No. 1 thing to remember on April 1 is this: Go to the polls and vote. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
A retired American history teacher, Young recalled that in the early days of this country the only people who had the right to vote were white landowners who paid property taxes and taxes to the church.
“It’s a privilege that was kept from so many for so long,” she said.
