A longtime Mississippi County Justice of the Peace was defeated by a relative political newcomer in seeking the office of Mississippi County judge.
John Alan Nelson, District 3 Justice of the Peace for more than 10 years, received 2,262 votes, compared to Randy L. Carney's 3,615 votes.
Upon learning of his election, Carney and his family, as well as a wealth of volunteers who worked on the campaign, were elated.
"I am very humbled by this," Carney said after gathering his composure. "I am anxious to get to work."
Carney also thanked the citizens of Mississippi County for their votes.
"I appreciate the voters who had confidence in me," he said.
He also thanked his opponent for running a fair and clean race.
Nelson could not be reached for comment.
Carney will face independent candidate Steve Stallings in the General Election in November.
State Senate
In the State Senate District 15 race, retired Judge David Burnett captured victory, with 61.5 percent of the votes, compared to 38.5 percent for Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison. The unofficial total vote count was 4,969-3,116.
In Mississippi County, Burnett received, 3,831 votes, while Harrison received 2,193. According to the Poinsett County Democrat-Tribune, Burnett received 1,138 votes to Harrison's 923 in Poinsett County.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Harrison said this morning. "We worked hard, had a great group of people working hard on this campaign. I called Judge Burnett last night and congratulated him. He beat a good team of folks."
Harrison said it is time to work together to make District 15 the best that it can be.
He declined to say if he planned to seek re-election for Blytheville mayor.
Burnett could not be reached at press time this morning.
Mississippi County sheriff
In the hotly-contested sheriff's race, State Trooper Dale Cook won the three-way race with 62 percent of the vote, negating the need for a runoff.
Cook received 3,567 votes, compared to 1,688 for Tommy Bennett Jr., and 481 for Ed Guthrie. Bennett's total reflected 29 percent of the vote with Guthrie bringing in 8 percent.
Cook thanked his supporters, who filled up the Blytheville Holiday Inn conference room Tuesday night.
"It was not me, it was you all that did it," Cook said. "This election is not about me or any other candidate. It's about you all that worked so hard."
Cook said he tried to run a clean campaign, and he plans to stay out of the Sheriff Department's business until his term begins.
"Jan. 1, we're going to hit the ground running to make it better than what it is," Cook said. "With all of you all's support, I hope I can come back at the end of this first term and report to everybody what our successes are and hopefully few failures."
He said he plans to get the department better equipment and more training. Cook pledged to fight drugs and thefts, in particular the stealing of copper from farm equipment.
"We're going to attack the worst problems first," he said.
Cook added he will work with the new county judge, state senator, mayors and chiefs of police.
"We're going to work together as a team to pull Mississippi County back together," he said. "Mississippi County, in my opinion, is the best county in the state of Arkansas."
In defeat, Bennett offered support for Cook.
"I did the best I could and I want to thank everyone that voted for me," Bennett said. "I congratulate Mr. Cook on his win."
JP races
In other local races, Hattie Middlebrook unseated incumbent Joe Lewis for the District 6 justice of the peace seat. Middlebrook won by only 13 votes, garnering 177 votes, to Lewis' 164.
Adonis Hopper won the District 3 justice of the peace seat that was vacated by Nelson. She received 384 votes, compared to 241 for Bryan Dunham.
In the JP District 4 race, Jonathan Abbott handily won re-election over challenger Charles E. Thomas. Abbott received 361 votes compared to Thomas' 168.
"I'm glad the public saw fit to re-elect me for two more years," Abbott said. "I hope we have two more years of progress ahead of us."
In the race for JP District 5, incumbent Barry Ball won another term over challenger Shirley Connealy. Ball received 435 votes to Connealy's 344.
"I'm tickled to death," Ball said. "I appreciate everyone who voted for me and I'm glad we were able to run a good clean race. Mrs. Connealy was a worthy opponent and I wish her the very best. I look forward to another term of serving the people of Mississippi County."
In the race for prosecuting attorney, Scott Ellington received 2,916 votes in the county while Curtis Hitt received 2,234.
Statewide races
In statewide races, more Mississippi Countians voted for Sen. Blanche Lincoln than her two challengers. Lincoln received 2,925 votes in the county, while Lt. Gov. Bill Halter received, 2,499. The third candidate in the race, D.C. Morrison, received 465 votes in the county.
Lincoln and Halter are headed for a June 8 runoff.
On the Republican ticket, Jim Holt led with 170 votes; Curtis Coleman got 38; Fred Ramey received 23; Conrad Reynolds won 56 votes; Randy Alexander received 28 votes; Sen. Kim Hendren got 37 votes; Congressman John Boozman got 147 votes and Sen. Gilbert Baker received 63 votes. Statewide, Boozman won the right to face the Lincoln-Halter winner in November, with 53 percent of the overall vote.
In the race for First Congressional District representative, Sen. Steve Bryles topped Mississippi County vote totals with 2,484 votes. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould was next with 1,179 votes.
Others in the race and their votes were: Terry Green, 137; Ben Ponder, 566; State Rep. David R. Cook, 723; Chad Causey, 1,233. All are Democrats. District-wide, Wooldridge and Causey were the top vote-getters, and will square off in the June 8 runoff.
On the Republican side of the ticket, Rick Crawford received 468 votes and Princella Smith received 85. Crawford won the party nomination.
In the race for secretary of state, Doris Tate received 897 votes in the county, while Mark Wilcox garnered 1,844 votes. County clerk Pat O'Brien received 2,559 votes in the county.
For state commissioner of lands, Mike Berg received 1,151 local votes, Rep. Monty Davenport got 1,855 votes and L.J. Bryant received 1,980 votes.
In the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, Mark Darr received 287 Mississippi County votes, while Donnie Copeland received 47.
Constable races
In the races for constable, a runoff for Bowen Township between Terry Byrd and Bobby Godsey will take place. Byrd received 143 votes to Godsey's 128. The third challenger in the race, Ray W. Brown Jr., received 126 votes.
In the race for Carson Lake constable, Sumner R. "Reggie" Cullom, M.D., received 39 votes, while Robert H. Fuller received 9 votes.
In the race for Chickasawba Township constable, Randy Moody defeated Larry Goff by a vote of 1,574 to 973.
In the constable's race at Golden Lake, Donnie McDaniel received 66 votes to John W. Nelson's 50 votes.
A total of 6,791 votes were cast in the county. Of those, 3,102 votes were cast early and 99 were cast by absentee ballot.
It is not yet known if there were any provisional ballots to be counted. If so, those will be considered Friday when the county's Election Commission will meet to certify the votes.
The numbers listed are complete, but unofficial totals.
Until the votes are certified by the Election Commission, the numbers are not final.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com