Mayor of Mississippi's capital city fights for third term despite federal bribery indictment
In a matchup Jackson voters have seen before, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, seeking a third term, faces state Sen. John Horhn in a Democratic primary runoff on Tuesday.
' People are ready for something different," Horhn said. 'They are ready for change; they're ready for leadership; they're ready for better streets; they're ready for less crime; they're ready for more opportunities.'
Lumumba defeated Horhn in the 2017 Democratic primary outright, earning 55% of the vote. This time around, Lumumba's vote share dropped to 17% in an April 1 primary. Horhn secured 48%, short of a majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Horhn benefited from the endorsement of Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, noted Eric R. Schmidt, an assistant professor of government and politics at Millsaps College.
'What's different is that he came very close to winning the Democratic party nomination outright; and what's different as well is the cloud that the criminal indictment against the current mayor has cast over the race,' Schmidt said.
Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owns and Jackson City Council member Aaron B. Banks were indicted in November. The indictment alleges the three Democrats accepted payments, including $50,000 for the mayor's reelection campaign, from two people they thought were real estate developers looking to build a hotel near the downtown convention center. It turns out they worked for the FBI.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
'Residents have been, you know, told a narrative that should — that should give them every reason for us not to be here, right? And we're trying to make it clear that that's not who we are," said Lumumba.
Schmidt said the winner of Tuesday's runoff will almost certainly be the next mayor of Jackson, given the city's demographic makeup. More than 80% of residents are Black, the highest percentage of any major U.S. city, and about 25% live in poverty.
The general election is set for June 3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Trump's day of reckoning as leaders stand with Zelensky after humiliating Putin talks
Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders arrive in Washington to stand united with Volodymyr Zelensky as he faces a US president who, just days earlier, extended a red carpet welcome to Vladimir Putin Christopher Bucktin is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience, the majority of which he has spent at the Daily Mirror. A former Press Gazette Reporter of the Year, he has held senior roles including Head of Features, Head of Showbusiness, and Head of Content, before relocating to the United States in 2013 to become US Editor. Renowned for breaking agenda-setting exclusives, he has reported from the front lines of America's biggest news stories, led investigations into the Trump administration, and exposed key details in the Jeffrey Epstein case. His career highlights include securing the first interview with the Peru Two inside prison, becoming the first journalist to descend into drug lord El Chapo's escape tunnel, and spearheading coverage of Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein. He holds weekly columns in the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Reach's regional titles. Sir Keir Starmer and fellow European leaders have descended on Washington to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Volodymyr Zelensky as the Ukrainian president confronts a man who only days ago rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin. The US President spent much of his White House campaign trail thumping his chest with boasts. More than 50 times, he told cheering crowds that he would end the war in Ukraine 'within 24 hours' of taking office. Again and again, he claimed that if he had been in power, the war would never have started in the first place. Both boasts now lie in tatters. The Alaska summit with Putin was meant to showcase Trump the dealmaker. Instead, it exposed him as flawed, deferential, and hopelessly outmanoeuvred. Allowing Putin to speak first in Alaska after the talks - a small but telling moment - made Trump look like the junior partner. No amount of flag-waving bravado can disguise the reality: he weakened himself on the world stage by indulging a proven killer dictator while offering nothing for peace, security, or freedom. The fallout has left Trump raging. Last night, he fired off a dizzying barrage of Truth Social posts, lashing out at critics, mocking a Democrat senator as 'unattractive,' and boasting of his beloved White House flags. It was the behaviour of a man floundering, not leading. Instead of statesmanship, America saw a man consumed by petty feuds and thin-skinned fury. His tirades continued late into the night, with Trump defending his failed meeting as if sheer volume could erase the stench of surrender. That is why today's meeting matters. Zelensky has endured bullying from Trump before, when he was treated not as a partner but as a pawn in Trump's grubby domestic political games. But this time, the Ukrainian president does not walk into the White House alone. Europe is at his side. And Europe knows the stakes. Putin's war is not just against Ukraine. It is against the very principle that free nations should choose their own destiny. Every concession Trump might dream of making to Moscow would strengthen the Kremlin, weaken NATO, and invite further aggression. That is why Starmer and Europe's leaders must keep their foot firmly on Trump's throat. They must deny him any room to turn Ukraine's agony into another tawdry transaction. Trump wanted Alaska to be his triumph. Instead, it revealed his folly. Today, Europe has the chance to ensure it becomes his reckoning. Because the truth is clear: the war did not end in 24 hours. It did not end with handshakes in Alaska. And it will not end with backroom deals in Washington. It will only end when Putin is forced to understand that free nations, from Kyiv to Kansas, will not bow to his terror. Trump has shown the world he cannot be trusted with that task. Today, Europe must make sure America sees it too..
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Oklahoma to require Blue state teachers to take 'America First' test
The state department of education will implement the new certification test for teachers from the two largest Democrat-led states "who are teaching things that are antithetical to our standards" to ensure newcomers "are not coming into our classrooms and indoctrinating kids," Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, said in an interview with USA TODAY. Walters has dubbed the new requirement an "America First" certification, in reference to one of Trump's political slogans. Oklahoma's Republican Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Walters, a Republican, to the helm of the state's education department in Sept. 2020 and voters then elected him for a second term in November 2022. Oklahoma to require schools To teach Trump's 2020 election conspiracy theories Oklahoma is offering teaching bonuses that go up to $50,000 to attract teachers from across the nation and has seen "a dramatic increase in teachers wanting to come to Oklahoma," Walters said. The new test is meant to ensure they weed out teachers with opposing views from the state's standards. The state, like many others, has a persisting teacher shortage. He said the test will only apply to teachers from California and New York, for now, because those states specifically teach lessons that are antithetical to those taught in Oklahoma. "A lot of the credit goes to Gavin Newsom," Walters said. He alleged California under the governor has implemented lessons on "gender theory," and that won't be allowed in Oklahoma schools. (The California Healthy Youth Act, passed in 2016, requires that public school lessons across the state "must be inclusive of LGBTQ students" and same-sex relationships and teach students about "gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes" and "about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ means.") Oklahoma's 'America First' Test Nonprofit conservative media company Prager U is helping Oklahoma's state department of education develop the test. The company previously helped develop the state's new high school history curriculum standards, which includes lessons on how to dissect the results of the 2020 election, including learning about alleged mail-in voter fraud, "an unforeseen record number of voters" and "security risks of mail-in balloting." The new curriculum also teaches the contested theory that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak and removed a prior proposal for lessons about George Floyd's murder and Black Lives Matter. "These reforms will reset our classrooms back to educating our children without liberal indoctrination," Walters wrote in a post on X on April 29. "We're proud to defend these standards, and we will continue to stand up for honest, pro-America education in every classroom." The state superintendent said some of the history questions will about American government, how the nation came to be and its founding documents. Walters' office shared five sample questions with USA TODAY: What are the first three words of the Constitution?A. In God We TrustB. Life, Liberty, HappinessC. The United StatesD. We the People Why is freedom of religion important to America's identity?A. It makes Christianity the national religionB. It bans all forms of public worshipC. It limits religious teaching in public lifeD. It protects religious choice from government control What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?A. House of Lords and CommonsB. Courts and SenateC. Executive and LegislativeD. Senate and House of Representatives How many U.S. Senators are there?A. 435B. 110C. 50D. 100 Why do some states have more Representatives than others?A. They cover a larger geographic areaB. They have held statehood for a longer periodC. The number is determined by military presenceD. Representation is determined by population size Walters said the test will be finished by Aug. 15 and it will be available to prospective teachers the week of Aug. 18. "We're very close," he said. Oklahoma schools have become more has conservative under Walters' took the helm of the state's education department in Sept. 2020, and voters elected him for a second term in November 2022. Along with the changes to the state's history curriculum standards, Walters has ordered public schools to teach the Bible in June 2024. Bible lessons will not be on the new teacher certification exam, he said. Teachers' union leaders: Test will be 'a huge turn off' to teachers amid 'serious teacher shortage crisis' Teachers' union leaders decried the new certification test in interviews with USA TODAY. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Walters' new test is going to be a "huge turn off" to teachers and that it's not "going to solve a problem." "Teachers in this country are patriotic, and suggesting they're not is insulting," she said. Weingarten went on to criticize Walters for several of his conservative pushes for education in Oklahoma, including bible lessons, and support for a religious charter school, which was blocked by a split Supreme Court vote this May. She called those moves and the implementation of the new test "a major distraction." "Ryan Walters appears to be trying out for MAGA in chief, not educator in chief, because everything that he's doing is about the culture wars, not about the reading, writing and arithmetic," she said. "If he wants to be MAGA in chief then go be MAGA in chief. But let someone else be educator in chief and focus on other things people deserve, which is reading, literacy and wraparound services - and actual teachers who want to be in Oklahoma." Oklahoma and California teachers union leaders agreed. "This is a political stunt to grab attention," said Cari Elledge, president of the Oklahoma Education Association. "All of the mandates coming out of the Department of Education are baseless and are distractions from real issues in Oklahoma." One of those pressing issues is "the serious teacher shortage crisis," she said. "When political ideology plays into whether or not you can teach in any place, that might be a deterrent to quality educators attempting to get a job ... We think it's intentional to make educators fearful and confused." The political climate in Oklahoma has contributed to the teacher shortage, she said, noting there are about 30,000 teachers in Oklahoma who hold state teaching certifications but are not working in classrooms. "We believe the political morale is making it scarier to teach," she said. "We know our jobs are so much more important and at the end of the day it's about the future of our students." The state teachers union told its members in a July 11 letter, which Elledge provided to USA TODAY, that Walters "has no legal authority to vet certified teachers based on political ideology." They say that's because "licensing and certification are governed by state statute, not personal opinion or partisan preferences" and state law "requires us to recognize out-of-state teaching credentials." The letter references part of the state education code that says it "must issue certificates to qualified teachers from other U.S. states and territories if they meet basic requirements, including a criminal background check." The union is also concerned about the state education department's partnership with PragerU "because it's not an educational authority and it's partisan," Elledge said. "OEA is actively monitoring this and other overreaches," the letter reads. "We remain vigilant in protecting the rights of Oklahoma's educators and students." Teachers in Oklahoma don't teach newly implemented conservative ideologies in classrooms, which are expected to be on the 'America First' certification test, Elledge said. "They're not here to give opinions in class; they're here to teach facts," she said. There are not many teachers in Oklahoma who come from California or New York, anyway, because of political differences. "People in Oklahoma have more conservative values," she said. "It's not a destination state for people from California and New York, which is sad because it's a really good place and students here deserve the best they could possibly have." David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers' Association, said he also hasn't heard of an influx of teachers who want to move from California to teach in Oklahoma. But at a time when states are trying to solve teacher shortages, the Oklahoma test is trying to "scare them away," he said. "This almost seems like satire and so far removed from my research around what Oklahoma educators need and deserve," he said. "I can't see how this isn't some kind of hyper-political grandstanding that doesn't serve any of those needs." Goldberg rejects that what teachers need in California - "respect" and a livable wage - is different than what Oklahoma teachers need to thrive. Teachers have a responsibility to take care of kids in both places despite their different education systems, he said. Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's outburst over Putin 'defeat' before Zelensky meeting
Donald Trump slammed the "Fake News" media and other politicians in his tirade, also putting the onus on Zelensky to seal a ceasefire deal - it comes after Trump's meeting with Putin on Friday President Donald Trump has vented his frustrations over his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, just a day before he is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Trump's meeting with Putin took place in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, where they discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Despite Trump describing the meeting as "productive", the two leaders failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire. "There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump told journalists during a press conference following the summit. Putin, on the other hand, referred to their discussions merely as a "reference point" for ending the war and a starting point for future diplomatic and economic relations between the U.S. and Russia. "The Fake News has been saying for 3 days that I suffered a 'major defeat' by allowing President Vladimir Putin of Russia to have a major Summit in the United States," the president wrote, reports the Mirror US. "Actually, he would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention! If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!" he continued. In another post, Trump targeted Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who claimed that Putin "got everything that he wanted" from the three-hour meeting. "Murphy is a lightweight who thinks it made the Russian President look good in coming to America. Actually, it was very hard for President Putin to do so," Trump blasted. "This war can be ended, NOW, but stupid people like Chris Murphy, John Bolton, and others, make it much harder to do so." John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor, commented on CNN that Trump "looked very tired" post-summit. Trump essentially passed the buck to President Zelensky after the summit, stating that Putin had proposed a ceasefire if Kyiv surrendered all of Donetsk - an industrial region that Moscow has its sights set on. Zelensky dismissed the proposal. "President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," he posted on Truth Social. Zelensky, along with leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, are scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Monday. This marks the first meeting between the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders since February. "Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honour to host them! ! !" Trump tweeted. Minutes later, Trump took a swipe at the media, alleging that reports have labelled his hosting of the European leaders as a "big loss. "Actually, it is a great honour for America! ! !" he retorted. Zelensky's allies have welcomed Trump's efforts to reach a deal with Putin but promised to support Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia. Zelensky himself has said he can't concede territory without changes being made to Ukraine's constitution and insisted on security guarantees to stop Russia from invading again. After the summit, Trump told Putin, "We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon."
