Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam lost her seat after voters rejected her at the ballot box last Tuesday. Public defender David Sullivan defeated Beam in the election for the Mississippi Supreme Court District 2 place 2 seat.
Beam’s defeat comes after she voted with a majority to kill the state’s citizen-led ballot initiative system and a voter-adopted medical-marijuana program in 2021. The decision was seen as a partisan move, and Sullivan suggested that Beam’s endorsement from the Republican Party may have been a factor in her loss.
In contrast, Sullivan campaigned on his experience with the criminal and civil law system, his father’s legacy as a former justice, and his connections to Hattiesburg and South Mississippi. He won the election by a margin of 54.5% to 45.5%.
The Mississippi Supreme Court recently ruled that voters cannot collect enough signatures from each congressional district due to population decline, rendering the ballot initiative system unusable. The court’s decision was met with criticism from both sides of the aisle, and the issue remains contentious.
Another Mississippi Supreme Court race is headed to a runoff election after no candidate managed to win over 50% of the vote. Incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens and challenger Jenifer Branning will face off in the Central District Place 3 seat on November 26.
Source: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-voters-retire-gop-backed-supreme-court-justice-who-voted-to-kill-ballot-initiative-system-electing-a-public-defender-instead