Tupelo Mayor Leaves Special US Senate Race in Mississippi | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Tupelo Mayor Leaves Special US Senate Race in Mississippi

Tupelo's Jason Shelton said Tuesday that "this election, at this time, is not right for me."

Tupelo's Jason Shelton said Tuesday that "this election, at this time, is not right for me." Photo by TupeloMS.gov

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Democratic mayor is dropping out of a special U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, leaving four candidates in the contest to serve the final two years of a term.

Tupelo's Jason Shelton said Tuesday that "this election, at this time, is not right for me."

Longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran resigned April 1 amid health concerns. Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Mississippi's second-term agriculture commissioner, Cindy Hyde-Smith, to temporarily succeed Cochran.

She's among four candidates remaining in the Nov. 6 special election, and the ballot won't list party labels.

Others running are Mike Espy, a Democrat who was President Bill Clinton's first agriculture secretary; Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel; and Tobey Bartee, a Democrat who previously served on the Gautier (GO-shay) City Council.

A runoff, if needed, would be Nov. 27.

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