Live from Jackson ... it's Election Night!

By Jennifer Jacob
jjacob@themeridianstar.com

JACKSON — Well, election nights are always interesting ... especially when you're driving all over this city following candidates.
Here are a few snippets from what I saw tonight:

• The noisy room deep in the innards of Jackson's Hilton Hotel went suddenly silent Tuesday night as Gregg Harper answered his cell phone. "Hey Brad. You got some numbers?" Heads turned and eyes went wide at that last word — "numbers."
The numbers, as it turned out, were in Harper's favor at that time. Sort of. He was coming in second in the 3rd Congressional District race, behind former state Sen. Charlie Ross. And in this race, second is something. With seven republican candidates running, a run-off election is expected, with the top two candidates vying against each other for the congressional seat. Second place is a ticket to a second chance. Ross and Harper will face off April 1.

• Elsewhere in Jackson, similar parties were going on in support of David Landrum and Charlie Ross, minus the live music.
Ross' party was held at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, where supporters watched results pour in on a truly enormous television, and Ross waited in a back room, coming out to speak periodically.
Needless to say, at 9 o'clock Tuesday night, he was happy with the results, which continued to put him in first place.
"I'm very confident," he said. "There's obviously going to be a run-off, but I'm confident that I will be in it and do well in it."

• David Landrum's watch party took place at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, right next door to Ross' chosen locale, and his supporters were many and enthusiatic. Though the preliminary election results put Landrum in a very close third behind Harper, his supporters remained hopeful, and many echoed similar sentiments: "I think he's an honest guy, he's thorough, he's just as solid as you can be.", "He has character, incredible character, and he's just a great person."
Landrum himself wasn't giving up hope as he lagged behind Harper by a single percentile point around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
"I feel like we've got some good counties that aren't reporting yet," he said, "There's only 50% reporting now."
If he makes it to the run-off, Landrum says his campaign will be the same in message, but greater in intensity, "We'll be very focused," he said, "focused on the issues and focused on getting the job done."
And, like both Ross and Harper, he said "It's probably going to be a long night." As the saying goes, "It ain't over till its over."
Landrum, like Ross, said that his campaign, if he makes it to the run-off, will certainly make it's way through Lauderdale County, and Harper has run-off plans for the Meridian as well.