Justice Jim Kitchens, the incumbent in the Central District Supreme Court race, is leaning on his four decades of courtroom experience as he seeks a third term. The 81-year-old knows he’ll be replaced eventually, but says the next person to hold his seat needs to understand the wide variety of legal matters that come before the court.
“We get appeals from all over the state of every kind of legal matter that is known to the mind of man,” Kitchens said. “And when those things come in here, it is just indispensably important that people on this court have experienced those sorts of legal dilemmas and problems that people have.”
Kitchens is widely viewed as one of the few centrists on the court. In contrast, his opponent, Republican State Senator Jenifer Branning, is emphasizing her identity as a “constitutional conservative” in her election bid. Branning thinks her experience as an attorney and lawmaker has her ready to serve on the state’s highest court, and that the election results from a few weeks ago show that voters are ready for a new generation of judicial leadership.
“If you look at the numbers from November the 5th, two thirds of the people that cast their ballot cast it for someone other than the incumbent,” Branning said. “So people have spoken that they want a change on the Mississippi Supreme Court.
The over $1 million Branning and Kitchens have raised and spent have made this one of the most expensive judicial races in Mississippi history. Branning's campaign committee has raised over$879,000, while Kitchen's has raised over $500,000. Branning notably put $250,000 of her own money into her campaign. The two have put those war chests to use, flooding the airwaves in the central district with advertisements.
In the general election, Branning received 42% of the vote and Kitchens received 36% with the rest split among three other candidates. Voter turnout is notoriously low in runoff elections. So, the victor will be whoever is more successful in motivating their supporters to turnout again, and in swaying those who voted for the candidates who did not advance.
