Ward 1 Challenger Exits Hoping Republicans Vote Against Melton

Ward 1 Jackson City Council candidate Jonathan Jones recently dropped out of the race to unseat incumbent Jeff Weill in the Republican primary. Ward 1 is in a predominately white area of Northeast Jackson and is the only Republican seat on the council.

However, Jones did not just exit the race for many of the usual reasons, mainly being the candidate is trailing and doesn’t stand much of a chance on Election Day. Instead, Jones said he was dropping out so Weill would be unchallenged in the GOP primary, thus leaving the door open for many Northeast Jackson residents to vote in the Democrat primary- which includes the heated race for mayor.

From the Clarion Ledger:

“We need a new mayor,” said Jones, an emergency medical physician at University of Mississippi Medical Center. “That weighs very heavily on my decision. I think Ward 1 won’t vote for (incumbent Mayor) Frank Melton.”

Essentially Jones is telling residents in Ward 1 to vote in the Democrat primary, and vote against Mayor Frank Melton. While votes from Ward 1 may have put Melton over the top last time, many think their feelings about the mayor have changed. At the same time, this is also a blow to former Mayor Harvery Johnson, who never had a good relationship with Ward 1 voters to begin with.

While Jones did not endorse a specific candidate; the biggest winner of this move appears to be Marshand Crisler, who may be coveting the white vote in order to finish in the top two in the primary. Previous to this, Crisler has been endorsed by Sheriff Malcolm McMillin who is popular in Northeast Jackson. Winning Ward 1 alone is not going to win the race for anyone, but writing it off can cost you in the end.