The race for a seat on the bench of the Lincoln County JusticeCourt is heating up at the close of the second week of qualifyingfor office.

After seeing only one candidate qualify in one of the two courtposts prior to this week, the two races now have a total of fivecandidates. Three are seeking the Post One position while two aregoing after the Post Two spot.

Attempts to gain a seat at the table with the Lincoln County Boardof Supervisors remain strongest, with nine candidates running forthose five seats. Overall, the list has grown to 26 local anddistrict-based candidates – 25 Democrats and one Republican.

“It’s still fewer than I had expected,” said Lincoln County CircuitClerk Terry Lynn Watkins. “I guess they’re kind of waiting aroundto see.”

In the meantime, political observers still have a healthy list ofcandidates to inspect, with competition in several offices.

Incumbent Post One Justice Court Judge Ralph Boone picked up twochallengers in Charles Ralph Smith, Jr., and former BrookhavenPolice Officer Joe Portrey. Portrey qualified in the race lateFriday afternoon.

“I feel like my experience, 29 years in the law enforcementprofession, gives me some insight into the laws that have beenpassed over the years,” Portrey said.

Meanwhile, the formerly open race for the Post Two seat has drawnattention from Carl Brown and Roger Martin. Incumbent Judge AnneReeves has yet to qualify to seek re-election.

Six weeks remain until the March 1 qualifying deadline. This year’sprimary election for county, district and statewide offices will beAug. 2, with runoffs held on Aug. 23 if necessary. The generalelection falls on Nov. 8.

That’s still plenty of time for Lincoln County to tally up a”normal” field of 30-40 candidates, meaning anywhere from five to15 more challengers may step forward in the coming days, Watkinssaid.

“I think we’ll definitely see some people coming out the closer itgets to the deadline. Time will tell,” she said.

The list of candidates qualified to run for supervisor remainsheavy but unchanged from one week ago. Incumbent District TwoSupervisor Bobby Watts faces challenges from Don Smith and JimmyDiamond, while incumbent District Five Supervisor Gary Walker isdefending against Benjie J. Smith and Dudley Nations.

District One Supervisor the Rev. Jerry Wilson, District ThreeSupervisor Nolam Williamson and District Four Supervisor Doug Moak- all incumbents – remain unopposed.

Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing picked up an opposingcandidate last week in Robbie Douglas after enjoying an earlyperiod of loneliness in the race to become the county’s topcop.

The race for constable is also one of the more contested races sofar, with Post One incumbent Kelly Porter facing Bruce Smith, andPost Two incumbent Lavon Boyd receiving challenges from KirbyEbbers and Troy Floyd.

No changes have been made to the list of candidates qualified torun for the title of Lincoln County Tax Assessor/Collector, withApril Byrd Williford and current Brookhaven City Clerk Mike Jinks -the lone Republican on the list – the only candidates thusfar.

Incumbent Lincoln County School District Superintendent TerryBrister remains unchallenged, while Lincoln County Coroner ClayMcMorris is likewise unopposed.

The slowest races of all are those for positions that extend beyondLincoln County.

So far, no candidates of either party have qualified for thecounty’s three legislative seats, including the incumbentscurrently attending session at the Capitol – District 53 Rep. BobbyMoak, D-Bogue Chitto, District 92 Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhavenand District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Brookhaven.

The deadline for qualifying for a seat in the Legislature is notuntil June 1, however, and lawmakers and their potentialchallengers are likely waiting to get a look at the decennialredistricting maps before acting.

Incumbent District Attorney Dee Bates remains the only candidatewho has qualified to run for top prosecutor in Circuit CourtDistrict 14, which includes Lincoln, Pike and Walthallcounties.