Voters casting ballots in Tuesday’s Senate District 37 race will choose between two options: experience or a fresh face.
Incumbent Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, will seek his ninth consecutive term against Republican challenger Melanie Sojourner, also of Natchez.
The district covers parts of Adams, Franklin, Amite and Pike counties.
Dearing was unopposed in the August Democratic primary. Sojourner, who is seeking her first public office, defeated Stephen Oglesby in the primary.
Dearing is relying on his experience, connections and hard work cultivated over his eight-term career.
“I think my experience and seniority in the Mississippi Senate is most important,” Dearing said. “The fact my opponent says I’m too old for the job is just something I’ll let the voters decide on. I know I’m young at heart.”
Dearing chairs the Oil, Gas and Other Minerals Committee, and serves on the Economic Development, Finance, Highways and Transportation, Insurance, Public Health and Welfare and Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks committees.
“If people are undecided, look at my qualifications and background and make that comparison,” Dearing said. “I think experience is going to win out, and i think that’s what folks are going to be looking for — someone who knows how to get the job done in Jackson.”
Dearing said the budget and redistricting will be the the Legislature’s most pressing concerns when it convenes in January. He also said the Senate cannot afford to cut education to balance the budget.
“We’ve got to live within our means,” Dearing said. The federal stimulus money is not there, and we don’t need to take away the rainy day fund.”
Though targeting the seat Dearing has held for more than three decades for her first office, Sojourner is excited by the challenge.
She said she grew up knowing Dearing and his family, and respects the work he has done in his legislative career. However, Sojourner said the district needs to look ahead to the future.
“I went into this looking, ‘Where do we go from here?’ not ‘Where have we been?” Sojourner said. “What do we have to do to get Southwest Mississippi back to where it needs to be to make sure the children in that next generation have jobs, a stable economy and an educational system that works?”
Sojourner works with the Mississippi State University Extension Service as an agriculture agent in southwest Mississippi and is an independent cattle producer.
She is running in part because, she said, a lot changed in Natchez and Adams County between the time she left in 1999 and returned in 2006.
“I came home and industry and businesses that were here were gone,” she said. “Times are different than they used to be. I think other parts of the state have been extremely aggressive in bringing jobs and industry. A lot of people have said they felt like Southwest Mississippi had been left behind.
“We’ve got to really step back and look at some of the things we created in this state that put us at competitive disadvantages. We have some really burdensome regulations and an overriding tax structure.”
Sojourner said she is “completely supportive” of the state retirement system, PERS, and believes the state should honor its promise to employees.
She also points to numerous endorsements, including Gov. Haley Barbour and Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, as verification of her ability to hit the ground running if elected.
“A lot of those guys have really stepped up. I feel like them doing that is saying, ‘We appreciate what Sen. Dearing is doing, but Melanie has new ideas,’ ” Sojourner said. “I absolutely know I have the ability to step in on Day 1 and have the relationships and connections to get things done.”
Senate District 39
In the Senate District 39 contest, W. L. Rayborn will try to reclaim the Senate seat he held for 20 years.
Rayborn won the Democratic primary with 5,338 votes (56 percent) over Michael Smith’s 4,157 votes. Both are from Brookhaven.
In the Republican primary, Sally Doty of Brookhaven received 2,141 votes (41 percent), followed by Bill Boerner of Brookhaven with 2,038 (39 percent) and David Nichols of Monticello with 1,002 votes.
That pits Doty against Rayborn in the Aug. 23 runoff.
District 39 encompasses all of Lincoln and Lawrence counties and part of Simpson County.
The candidates seek to replace Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is running for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.
Hyde-Smith unseated Rayborn in 2000.
